Arceus and the Jewel of Life
by MadDogLucario96
Summary: The world is said to have been created by the ancient Pokémon Arceus. But after over a thousand years of manifesting anger, Arceus is ready to make humans pay. What will happen when our heroes get caught in the mix? Find out. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. Sorry I've been a little inconsistent with stuff lately but I'm here with another movie retelling and I will stay with it to the end. This also may tie into the first movie but it will be a different thing. To make this great, I've reunited with the great ProcrastinationIsMyCrime to help with formatting and ideas and thanks to LEGAL-EAGLE53, Troy is back. I'm sure you guys will like this.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Pokémon, etc. etc. Troy belongs to LEGAL-EAGLE53 after once being mine.**

 **Enjoy the show.**

* * *

The world is always shrouded in mystery. From the question of how and when it was created to why every living thing on this earth exists, there is no end to the questions that had no answer. To trace it back, one must look at the legend of the Original One.

It is said long ago that a Pokémon named Arceus was responsible for creating the world and all the Pokémon who inhabit it. Whether He also created man is up for debate because no one is sure.

When Arceus created the world, He created the dimensions of time and space before creating the legendaries Dialga and Palkia to rule over both. Next Arceus created the Reverse World and had Giratina rule over it. Then He created his dimension to be left alone.

For eons, the four dimensions existed harmoniously. They were never to meet or clash. That all changed with the incident at Alamos Town, when Dialga and Palkia fought in an epic battle that almost destroyed the entire city. Thankfully most evaded disaster when the actions of a few brave humans stopped their fight. The two returned to their dimensions and stay there to this day.

Meanwhile, in Arceus' dimension, a great fury never witnessed in modern history was manifesting itself. While in the middle of a long sleep, the Original One was reflecting back on a past incident.

XXXXXX

 _The darkness of the moon passes over the sun._

 _"It is time to return the Jewel of Life." Arceus said._

 _"Here it is. Now take it." A man's voice came._

 _Electrical attacks come down on Arceus from above, causing him great pain._

 _"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"_

 _"I will never give you the Jewel of Life. Michina will flourish forever."_

 _"You have betrayed me, and you are trying to destroy me!"_

XXXXXXX

Reflecting on this infuriated the Original One, sending out waves of psychic energy throughout His dimension. His rage was growing even more out of control. His eyes opened, reflecting the eons of rage he had been accumulating ever since that fateful day. There was only one who needed to pay for all of this.

"The time has come," came His voice. "Human beings must be brought to justice! They all must die for what they have done to me."

* * *

A Lucario's eyes snapped open. It had been meditating for the past few minutes in the middle of a long corn field until a wave of powerful energy snapped it out of its state. It wasn't sure what was going on but it could not be very good.

"Hey Lucario," came a call. "Let's go."

The Aura Pokémon stood up on his legs and started to walk towards the voice of his master and friends. He felt like there was going to be trouble wherever they were going and they were going to be caught in the middle of it again.

"Everything ok?" His trainer asked.

Lucario grunted with a nod in response, hoping to give the illusion to his trainer that everything was fine. Troy smiled at his Pokémon.

"Alright. Let's go catch up to the others." The two of them ran off to join their companions.

The cool breeze was hardly enough to placate their misery. The humidity caused them all to sweat and dread the long walk, even with the shade the corn brought them. The corn seemed to stretch all the way up to heaven above and the field looked like they were crossing an ocean.

The group of four friends, however, were optimistic and excited about the prospect of a new adventure on this day, even with the unforgiving sun beating down on their backs. All of them were traveling in search of different goals; one to be a Pokémon Master, another to be a Top Coordinator, another to be a great Pokémon Breeder and the other to help the aspiring master reach his goal.

"Hey Brock," a male voice cried out. "How much further until we're out of this field?"

The young man in question looked up from his map. A strapping lad of nineteen, the one called Brock would be a catch to any girl. His tan skin and spiky brown hair glowed in the sunlight.

"Another couple of miles, Troy." He responded. "We'll be out soon. I promise."

"That's what you said a half hour ago. It's too hot for this."

The one complaining wiped the sweat off of his brow and took a drink of water from his canteen. He was very handsome; dark brown hair that was cut short, forest green eyes, a goatee growing on his chin. He looked like a god at the age of twenty-two. This was Troy Black, former Indigo League champion and mentor to Ash Ketchum. It was easier for him to complain about how hot it was because he wore a long-sleeved black shirt and jeans, clothes that were not appropriate for a hot day.

"Well maybe if you weren't wearing such stuffy clothing, you wouldn't be hot," Brock shot back.

"I didn't think it was going to be this hot!" Troy retaliated.

"Everything ok back there, guys?" called a voice from the front. It was the voice of a young girl. Dawn Berlitz is her name, and she was aspiring to be a Top Coordinator just like her mother, the legendary Johanna Berlitz. She was dressed a little more appropriately for the weather: a pink skirt, matching boots, black v-neck with a white shirt underneath, a white beanie and a pink scarf around her neck. She had dark blue hair and the most beautiful blue eyes anyone had ever seen.

And finally, the leader of their motley little crew was the one and only Ash Ketchum. He paid no attention to his older companions' conversation. He was lost in his world at the moment. He wore a white shirt under a blue vest with a gold stripe across the front, blue jeans and a red and black hat with a blue Poké Ball on the front.

"Yeah, Dawn," was Troy's reply. "Everything's peachy keen, jelly bean. If it weren't hot out, I'd be even better."

"Yeah, but thinking about Lina has probably made you even hotter." Brock chuckled at his remark. Troy blushed in embarrassment, though it couldn't be seen because his cheeks were red already.

"Very funny, Brock." Troy grumbled.

Lina was Troy's girlfriend back home in Kanto. From his description of her, she sounded like a beautiful young woman who was fantastic to be around. Just the very thought of her was enough to take Troy out of reality. That's how much he was in love with her.

After walking through the field for a little while longer, they finally made it out. Never were they more happy to see wide open spaces after being stuck inside a never-ending corn field for half a day.

"Ah it feels great to finally be out of the cornfield. I was worried we were going to become the Children of the Corn for a second." Troy joked.

"Hey look," Ash exclaimed excitedly. "There's Michina Town."

Running onto a bridge that hung over a stream that flowed down the way they had come, the four friends relished in the sight of civilization. There was so much nature and beauty that one couldn't look at it without getting any feels. Just a few miles to the north was a small settlement surrounded by imposing mountains.

"There's a sight for sore eyes. Make no mistake." Troy looked on in awe. Lucario nodded beside its trainer.

Grabbing his Poké Balls off of his belt, Ash let a smile creep up on his face.

"Alright, everyone. Come on out!" He cried, releasing all five of his Poké Balls to reveal the creatures inside. Staraptor, Buizel, Grotle, Monferno, and Gliscor all were present and accounted for.

"Good idea, Ash." Troy smiled, unclipping the other three balls on his belt. "Let's go, team."

"You guys come on out too." Dawn released her balls.

"And you." Brock brought up the rear.

For Troy, his Gengar, Drapion and Luxio came out with their own respective cries. Dawn's were Mamoswine, Buneary and Pachirisu and Brock released his Sudowoodo, Happiny and Croagunk. Lucario went over to join his comrades as Gengar started making jokes and being funny, causing Luxio to roll over onto his back in laughter. Lucario just rolled his eyes. Sometimes Gengar could be annoying but he valued the light heartedness he brought to the group.

"Let's go for a swim," Troy suggested. "I'm sweating like a Swinub out here."

"I'm in agreement with that." Ash smiled as the group separated to change in peace. The boys went to one area while Dawn stayed in another.

When Troy finally took off his unbearable black shirt, he sighed in relief that the cool breeze brought his bare torso. He was broadly built: rippling muscle along his chest, six pack abs, and covered in tattoos and scars. His suit was pretty simple: black and silver board shorts.

Letting out a Tarzan yell, Troy jumped up and flipped over twice before hitting the water. Once that happened, everything changed. His mood became a little brighter and a smile came on his face as a result. Dawn and Ash were right behind him, splashing each other like the kids they were, while Troy stood near the bank with Brock.

Troy sighed in relief. "Nothing like a dip in cold water to get your mood right, eh Brock?" He nudged his friend.

"Yeah," nodded Brock. "It feels great after all of that walking."

Suddenly the two were caught with a stray splash from their two younger companions. Wiping the water from his face, Troy put on a face of mock offense.

"Oh, it's on, young whipper-snappers." He challenged.

"Like Donkey Kong!" Brock chimed with a bigger voice. Soon it was an all out splash war between the "old dogs" and the "young pups."

With the Pokémon, Lucario was meditating by the riverbank, trying to feel for that weird burst of energy he felt earlier, as he heard his trainer and companions splashing each other and laughing. Gengar was making most of the others laugh by making funny faces and telling jokes. Whenever he would get too loud, Lucario would peak one eye over in annoyance and roll his eyes.

In the midst of their splash war, the four trainers noticed watermelons floating down towards them. Ash and Troy caught them before they could float further downstream.

"Wow, what a lucky break." Troy licked his lips, anticipating the sweet taste of watermelon already.

"Hey!" A young male voice cried. The group looked over to see two blue haired siblings, a boy and a girl, eyeing the watermelons in their hands.

"Those watermelons are ours." The boy protested.

"They were cooling down over there," his sister explained, pointing towards their right. "But the stream caught them."

Sure enough, when the group looked over, they noticed a batch of four other watermelons in a net over by the riverbank. They sighed in disappointment, upset they weren't going to be able to sink their teeth into some juicy melons.

Seeing their look of disappointment, the boy smiled sympathetically.

"Tell you what," he said. "You can have them on one condition: beat us in a battle."

His sister agreed. "Yeah, we can have a tag battle. What do you say?"

Ash and Dawn looked at each other, knowing they had the same thought as the other.

"You're on." Ash smirked.

* * *

After drying off and changing into their clothes, Ash and Dawn prepared to battle. Brock would referee while Troy would watch from the sidelines and coach them both. While he was doing that, Troy had his notebook and pen out to write his consistent letter to Lina back in Kanto.

"Alright, this will be a two-on-two tag battle," Brock announced. "First side to knock out the other's Pokémon are the winners. Ready?"

Everyone nodded.

"Let's get it on!"

The matchup was Beautifly and Heracross against Pikachu and Piplup, a pretty even battle to an onlooker. The two siblings tried to start out fast but Pikachu and Piplup were too fast for them to land a solid hit. Things took a bit of a stumble for Ash and Dawn when Beautifly used Silver Wind but they were able to get out of it.

There was another scare when Piplup's Peck couldn't get through Heracross's Horn Attack and he ended up showing penguins could fly if they tried, setting Beautifly up for a Shadow Ball, until Pikachu came to the rescue with an Iron Tail.

And finally, Piplup used Whirlpool to set up a trademark Pikachu Thunderbolt to end the battle. Heracross and Beautifly lay on the ground unconscious.

"It's over!" Brock announced. "And the winners are Piplup and Pikachu, giving the victory to Ash and Dawn."

"Yeah!" Ash cried as he and Dawn high-fived.

Troy was thankful he didn't have to get on Ash's case during a battle anymore. He had come a long way ever since he first met the kid. He didn't have to get on him quite so much anymore and the two of them became more like brothers since then.

As everyone sank their teeth into thick, juicy slices of watermelon, Troy continued to write the rest of his letter. He missed Lina so much that he wished he could have her come out to Sinnoh and be with him on their journey. He was going to marry that girl someday. He just knew it.

"Whatcha writing there, Troy?" Brock teased, looking over Troy's shoulder.

"None of your business, Brock." He shot, trying to keep his notebook away from Brock's prying eyes.

"Oh come on." Brock then tried to snatch it out of his hands.

"Nope," Troy stuck his nose in the air. "Not gonna happen."

"Brock, just leave him alone," Dawn chastised, still chewing on her slice of watermelon. "If he doesn't want to share anything, he shouldn't."

"I don't know. Is that Lina I see over there?" Brock pointed in the opposite direction.

Hearing that made Troy jump out of his seated position on the ground, disturbing the meditating Lucario and Luxio at the same time. He looked around wildly.

"Where?!" He demanded. "Where?!"

It took him a full few seconds to realize that he was fooled when Brock grabbed his notebook and started reading over the three page letter.

"Oh listen to this, guys," Brock laughed mockingly before reading a passage from the letter. "My darling, Lina, how I long for the feel of your luscious thighs wrapped a..."

"Give me that!" Troy' face was redder than the watermelons they were eating. He snatched the notebook out of Brock's hand. "That is none of your business, Brock!"

"Oh you've got it bad." Brock smirked, puckering his lips in a mock kiss.

"Shut up."

Looking around and watching all of the Pokémon eat slices of watermelon, Troy was concerned to see Lucario not eating along with them. He was just sitting and meditating. Now this normally would not have caused Troy to worry but he got some bad vibes from Lucario.

Sitting down beside his partner Pokémon, feet crossed over his legs just like him, Troy decided to get to the heart of the issue.

"Everything ok, Lucario?" He asked. "You've been this way for a while now. Is something the matter?"

Lucario only grunted in response, still focusing his aura to find the mysterious wave of energy he felt earlier.

"You think something else is going to happen?" Troy inquired again.

Lucario nodded.

"Well you won't have to worry," Troy smiled. He rubbed Lucario on the head with a chuckle. "Everything's going to be fine."

Despite his trainer's comforting words, Lucario was not sure that everything would be fine. That burst of energy he felt might be signaling something will happen to them.

 **The board is set and the pieces are moving. What is going to happen next to our heroes? Stay tuned. Just so you know, an old friend will appear next chapter. I'll give you all a hint to see if you can guess: blonde and annoying. Leave a review with your guess or just a general statement of what you think of the story. See you all soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys. Back again with a new chapter. Got some bad news: PIMC decided that she needed to move on from this. I completely respect her decision and so I will be carrying on alone. That has not quelled my passion for this story though. Enough drama now. Let's get to the story. I decided to take some liberties and cut out some things I deemed were a little unnecessary or will be revealed later. You'll know what they are when you see them. Also, the surprise guest will be revealed here.**

 **So without further ado, let's get this story on the road.**

* * *

After getting their fill of delicious watermelon, our heroes are now being shown around Michina Town. It was almost like traveling back in time; the town was very old and still had some buildings that looked like they were built a millennia ago. Troy found it all very fascinating. He always had a big interest in history so he was able to appreciate it better than the rest of his travel companions.

Stopping at the local Pokémon Center to mail his letter to Lina, he once again had to endure Brock's teasing and the two almost got into a fist fight if Ash and Dawn hadn't got between them and Nurse Joy catching Brock's attention instead. Sometimes Brock could be so pathetic that it drove Troy crazy.

Being led through apple orchards that had many Combee flying through them, their tour guides were giving them information on the various features of the town but it was the mention of ruins that caught Troy's interest.

"There's the ruins of a temple from thousands of years ago," the girl commented. "It's a must-go for all tourists that come here."

"Ruins huh?" Troy perked. "You know, I think I heard something about ruins here. The temple was originally a shrine to an ancient Pokémon but it was destroyed long ago by unknown circumstances."

"You're right there, Troy," Brock flipped through his guidebook. "It says that here in the guidebook."

"I've always loved seeing ancient sites," Dawn nodded, excited at the prospect of seeing the ruins. "It should be awesome."

"Well let's go check them out." Ash smiled. Pikachu voiced his agreement.

Without warning something collided with Ash. He fell to the ground with whatever had crashed into him falling on top.

"Hey! You watch where you're going or I'm fining you!" A familiar, loud, impatient male voice cried. The person stopped his tirade as soon as he looked down at Ash. "Ash?"

"Barry." Ash gasped once he got his bearings back.

His three other companions looked on in disbelief. They groaned slightly as they saw who it was. It was Barry, a traveling trainer just like them. The one thing about Barry that drives them crazy is the fact he was so impatient and always in a rush that it was always a dreaded meeting whenever they would run into him.

"Get off him!" Troy ripped Barry off of Ash and helped him up. "You ok, Ash?" He asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," replied Ash before turning to the new arrival. "Barry, what are you doing here?"

Barry gave that smug grin that he almost always seemed to have on his face. "Well I was just in Jubilife City watching my dad compete for the title of champion and decided to come here." He explained.

"Your dad challenged Cynthia?" Ash stared wide eyed.

"Did he win?" Troy asked.

The grin on Barry's face went away for a second. "Sadly no," he sighed. It then returned. "But that doesn't matter. I know everything about her strategy now. Taking her down will be a piece of cake."

Barry's father was the one and only Tower Tycoon Palmer, one of the toughest Frontier Brains in the Sinnoh Battle Frontier. He was just like his father; unruly blonde hair, orange eyes, and more energy than he knew what to do with.

"Yeah," Troy sarcastically deadpanned. "And maybe angels will fly out of my ass at any second."

Ignoring Troy's comment, Barry decided to get to more pressing matters. "So what are you guys doing here?"

"Just came for some R&R you know?" Ash replied. "We were just about to go see the ruins of an ancient temple before you ran into us. Wanna come?"

"What?" Troy interjected, voicing his opposition to the idea. "Ash, are you crazy?"

"I don't see why not." Brock replied. "Sure would be interesting."

"I'm with Brock on this one," Dawn agreed. "It would be fun."

Seeing he was outnumbered, Troy sighed and conceded. "Alright. But if you do anything that drives me insane, I will kill you, Barry."

Walking away, he led the group towards the path that went through the forest. Ash followed close behind while Barry stared with a pale expression, Troy's words lingering over him.

"He doesn't actually mean it does he?" He asked Dawn.

"Oh don't worry about it," she assured. "Troy isn't going to do it. He's the biggest teddy bear you've ever met once you get to know him."

Despite her assuring words, Barry still looked like he thought Troy was very serious about what he said as he followed at the tail end of the line.

The dense forest, filled with green on the trees and beautiful flowers, soon gave way to a vast, clear lake. Everyone reacted with excitement and ran over to the bank as fast as they could. Looking up the mountain on the far side of it, which had waterfalls coming down, the group saw the ruins of the temple close to the peak of the mountain.

"The ruins were built on that mountain top almost two thousand years ago," Troy explained. "It's just like Machu Picchu. It amazes me how man can create such wonders like this."

"It's fascinating isn't it?" Brock agreed, feeling happy staring out at the lake. "I can just feel positive vibes coming from this place."

Ash and Dawn voiced their agreement while Barry just looked confused.

"What are you guys talking about?" He asked.

Everyone laughed nervously at his comment. Troy just shook his head and decided to bring Lucario out. He wasn't sure what Lucario was nervous about before but he thought looking at the lake would clear Lucario's mind.

Appearing before his trainer, Lucario sat down in a meditative position on the bank and channeled his energy to focus more on that earlier wave he felt. He hadn't had any luck while being in his Poké Ball and decided to try again now that he was out of his ball.

"Come now, Lucario," Troy sat down beside him. "Just relax and look out at the lake with me. It's so beautiful."

Lucario tried to relax and see the lake the same way his trainer saw it but he just couldn't. Suddenly, something jolted his Aura. It was another powerful wave of energy very similar to the one he felt earlier.

Troy sensed his partner's change in demeanor. Feeling foolish for doubting Lucario, he checked to make sure everything was ok.

"Everything ok Lucario?" He asked. Looking over, Troy saw Pikachu also act like something was wrong.

Before anyone knew what was happening, a giant typhoon came up out of the lake. The sheer force of it caused a gravity pull, pulling anything towards it.

"What is that thing?" Barry shrieked.

"Quick. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Troy followed.

The two Pokémon launched their attacks toward the typhoon, breaking it apart and sending the top half into the sky. Before everyone could feel safe, Lucario felt another burst of energy, this one much stronger than the last. He grabbed his head and groaned in pain, buckling down to his right knee.

"Lucario!" Troy cried, bending down to check on his Pokémon's condition. "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"What's wrong with Lucario, Troy?" Barry asked.

"I don't know," he shot back. "It's probably nothing."

Lucario was about to respond until four more typhoons came up out of the water. Looking over, everyone could see the wild Pokémon that lived in the forest either run or fly away.

"It's too dangerous!" Troy cried, looking over at his friends. "We've gotta move."

Running towards the forest, the group of five thought they were home free until a giant sweep of wind blew them back, almost into the typhoons, but Troy was able to stand his ground.

"Help!" Dawn screamed. She was in the air with only Ash holding her, though he was losing his grip fast.

"Someone is going to get seriously fined for this!" Barry screeched as he just barely held on to Dawn's legs.

"Dawn!" Troy cried, grabbing her other hand. "Hold on to me! I've got you." He assured, pulling her and Barry back to the safety of the ground. As they got their bearings back, Ash and Dawn realized Pikachu and Piplup weren't there.

"No! Pikachu!" Ash cried.

"Piplup!" Dawn echoed. She looked to Troy with a pleading expression. "Troy, do something!"

"Who do you think I am?" He also sounded panicked. "Goku?"

When everything seemed lost, a young woman, aged about sixteen or so, stepped forward onto the rock beside them. Behind her was a young man about the same age as her. What was most striking about him was how much he looked exactly like Barry; the same blonde hair but in a bowl cut and orange eyes.

"Dialga, come for and save these Pokémon for me." The young woman requested. As if on schedule, a portal opened and out came the legendary Pokémon that was the master of time.

The group of five stared in complete awe as Dialga flew up to catch Pikachu and Piplup before sending them down to their trainers, who embraced them in relief and adulation. Next Dialga launched a powerful attack towards the portal in the sky, destroying it and sending the water back down. Once it came down, the force created a giant wave and sent it towards our heroes.

"Incoming!" Brock cried as everybody ran to higher ground. They just barely missed it for the most part, only Barry was drenched from head to toe. He wore an unamused expression while Dawn giggled at him.

"Shut up," he snapped. "It's not funny."

Once the whole situation had calmed down, the new arrivals turned to the group.

"Is everyone ok?" The girl asked.

"Yeah we're all fine," Troy nodded. "How were you able to summon Dialga like that?"

She smiled. "I can connect my heart to the hearts of Pokémon. It's an ability that has been passed through my family for generations. Hi, my name is Sheena and I'm a guardian of these ruins."

"Same here," came the voice of the Barry clone. "My name's Kevin."

"I'm Dawn."

"Hi, I'm Ash." Ash introduced himself. "And this is my partner, Pikachu. Thanks for saving him."

"Troy Black at your service," Troy bowed before gesturing to Lucario. "And this is Lucario. Mr. Hyper over there is Barry."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Barry shot, obviously offended by Troy's label for him.

"It's whatever you want it to mean." Troy retorted.

Ignoring the two and their spat, Sheena jumped down from the rock above where Troy and Ash were standing. She looked at Pikachu and Lucario with great interest. Lucario could feel her studying him because of the look in her eyes.

"Long ago, a thunder creature, an Aura creature and their masters changed the fate of this town," Sheena explained. "It's part of the legend that surrounds Michina Town."

"Wait," Troy was trying to understand. "A thunder creature, an Aura creature and their masters? Does that mean that me and Ash are tied to this?"

"It's possible," was Sheena's reply. "But I do believe our meeting may have been fated. So would you mind coming with us?"

Troy was still suspicious but Ash said anything before he could get a word in edgewise.

"Sure," he said. "After all, you saved Pikachu."

Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, Brock slid between Ash and Troy to grasp Sheena's hand, scaring the two of them out of their wits.

"Sheena, I'm Brock, another fated person." He huskily introduced himself. "Why just a moment ago I took a fated tumble and scrapped my elbow," he showed the red mark on his elbow to illustrate his point. "And fate would have it that you would kiss it and make it better. Then you would stroke my with that beautiful hand of yours **(A/N: I don't think that's the only place he wants her to stroke him XD)** and that was the miracle that took away all of my pain. All because of the fickle finger of fate! And now I know it is destined we go out and build our feelings for each other on the fated love that is there. Such a lovely hand...huh?" Brock had realized by that point he had grabbed something else. He looked to see it wasn't her gloved hand but a man's hand. Looking up, he saw Troy standing there unimpressed and Croagunk standing right next to him.

"Nice to know I have soft hands." Troy said with a biting tone.

"Wha!" Brock cried, realizing it was Troy's hand he was holding.

"Look, I love you too buddy," Troy narrowed his eyes. "But not like that. You can do what you do best now, Croagunk."

Croagunk nodded before Poison Jabbing Brock in the stomach. Brock let out a cry of pain as the poison worked its way through his body.

"Wrong hand." He groaned as he fell to the ground paralyzed. Croagunk dragged him away before anyone could say or do anything else.

Suddenly more typhoons appeared on the water, this time more powerful than the last ones.

"Time to go!" Troy grabbed Ash and escorted him away. Brock, who had finally recovered, also ran with the two of them and Dawn.

"I thought you said it was nothing to worry about!" Barry shrieked, but following nonetheless.

"Follow us," Kevin ordered. "We'll get you somewhere safe. Let's hurry!"

"Right." Troy nodded as he and the others followed the two guardians of the ruins.

* * *

 **What is happening now? What will be revealed? Follow along to find out. I know this chapter was a little short but I was not in the mood to make one giant chapter. So it was Barry that is joining the gang. What crazy mischief will happen with him? Be sure to leave a review to tell me what you think. I appreciate them more than you know. Catch you guys next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. Back with a new chapter. So far we have seen strange events occurring with our heroes. Now we find out why exactly they have been happening. This one may be a little shorter than the other ones but there's some good suspense and build up to the next couple chapters that it had to be this way.**

 **I want to thank my loyal reviewers for all of their amazing support. You know who you are. But I encourage those of you who favorite and follow the story to also leave a review letting me know what you think and why you decided to do just that.**

 **But enough chit-chat. Let's get on with the show.**

* * *

Deep inside the ruins, Ash and friends followed Sheena and Kevin as they walked through the catacombs. They were not sure what was going on now and were still wrapping their heads around what happened back at the lake with those typhoons and portals.

Troy was especially worried as questions swirled in his head. First Lucario starts acting weird, which he was still trying to figure out why, and now all of these crazy events start happening. He wasn't sure what was happening but it could not be good. That was for certain.

The cave air was much cooler than the air outside so it provided some much needed relief to our heroes as they followed the two guardians of the ruins of Michina. All around them, they could hear the echo of water dripping from the ceiling. Walking down a set of steel steps, they reached a set of doors.

As they walked inside, they saw that the room was pretty bare. Many torches lit up the room and were the only source of light. Close to them, they could see a device that had many different colored balls meant to represent something. In the floor below it was a diamond with the legendary Pokémon Dialga, Palkia and Giratina carved into the floor with one other Pokémon in the middle of them that no one in the group recognized.

"Wow," Barry's eyes were wide in awe. "This is incredible."

"Don't touch anything." Troy sternly instructed him. Barry blew him a raspberry in response. Troy ignored him and went over with the others to where Sheena and Kevin were standing.

"This is the time-space axis," Sheena explained, pointing to the device. "It allows us to keep track of changes in the space-time continuum and we use it to investigate places where time and space have been distorted."

"She's right," Kevin nodded. "We were there when the strange happening at Alamos Town occurred."

Boy did that bring back some memories for Troy and the others. They were not good ones either. It was almost a miracle that they got out of there alive and in one piece.

"And we were also there when the hole opened near the glacier." Sheena added before gesturing to the different spheres on the time-space axis as she spoke.

"Here we have our world, which is in turn supported by Giratina's Reverse World," she said. "Here we have the dimension of Dialga, here Palkia. And finally we have..."

CRASH!

Everyone turned to see Barry buried underneath a pile of armor that was originally standing on the far side of the room. He smiled apologetically. Troy rolled his eyes and walked over to where he was, picking him up by his scarf, and bringing him over to the rest of the group.

"What did I say?" He growled.

"Touch nothing." Barry responded mechanically.

Troy gave Sheena a look that said it was cool to move on. She nodded to him in understanding.

"As I was saying," she continued. "On top of Dialga and Palkia's dimensions, we have Arceus's dimension."

"Arceus's dimension?" Brock's eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"I've never heard of it." Dawn chimed in.

"Wait," Troy said. "I think I read about this somewhere. It was said that Arceus was a legendary Pokémon that supposedly created the entire world, right?"

Sheena nodded. "That is correct. You are well-informed, Troy Black."

Troy blushed in modesty. "I just read a lot."

"There is an omen predicting that Arceus will awaken from His long slumber." Sheena explained. "Massive whirl pools of energy are forming around Arceus as He begins to awaken."

"So that's what Lucario was feeling earlier," Troy interjected again. "I get it now."

"Right," she nodded. "Your Lucario's Aura allows it to be sensitive to feeling these kinds of things. It is these whirlpools of energy that are distorting space and brought Dialga and Palkia's dimensions together, though they are supposed to stay eternally separate."

"Due to that, it also brought Giratina into the mix as well," Kevin added. "All of these events are interconnected that it may signal Arceus will appear. That is why we use this altar to pinpoint when that moment happens."

"Why would it do that?" Ash asked, growing concerned where this was going.

"Arceus holds a grudge against humanity," explained Sheena. "He will stop at nothing to bring all human beings to justice."

That statement caused the group to gasp in shock. They understood the implications of that statement very well: it meant Arceus will kill many innocent people to sate an eons old rage.

"Justice?" Dawn sounded scared. She hugged Piplup closer to her body.

"Yes," Sheena nodded before nonchalantly adding, "It is also possible Arceus might destroy us all."

This caused the group to gasp even more. Their suspicions had been correct. For Troy, thoughts of his father and Lina went through his head as well as his other Pokémon back home. He could not let this happen if it meant losing the only people he had left in his life.

"Someone is going to get fined big time if we're all destroyed before I can become the best trainer alive!" Barry shrieked, his eyes wide as saucers and his face pale.

"How can you say it so calmly?" Troy pointed an accusatory finger. "How can a being who created this world want to destroy what it worked hard to create? This cannot happen. What happened long ago?"

Brock clamped a hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to calm down.

"Troy, just calm down." He said.

"No," Sheena shrugged it off before softly smiling. "It appears I can't get anything past you, Troy. I shall show you what happened long ago."

She walked to the far side of the room and stopped before a pool of water. Lowering down a screen of water, she began to tell her tale. Different pictures would accompany her as she spoke.

"This is the legend of these ruins," she began. "When meteors came down from the heavens and threatened the lives of many Pokémon, Arceus sacrificed Himself to fend off the danger."

"Arceus had been carrying the sixteen life plates that can be used to fend off any attack." Kevin added. "But lost the plates when it collided with the meteors, making death almost imminent."

A picture of a man carrying what looked to be one of the plates appeared on the screen, prompting Sheena to continue.

"But a man named Damos saved Arceus by returning the plates to Him. Back then Michina was little more than a wasteland. When Arceus saw this, He showed great pity. He removed the plates of water, grass, ground and electricity before adding the power of dragon. He fused them together to form the Jewel of Life."

A picture of a small green ball showed up next. Everyone gasped in awe at this amazing sight.

"Arceus bestowed the Jewel upon Damos, even though this meant putting His life in great danger. Almost instantly, Michina grew from a wasteland into a beautiful, fertile paradise."

Troy couldn't help but smile. The power of nature is a mysterious thing and worked in many different ways. It never ceased to amaze him.

The mood suddenly turned dark as Sheena spoke in a much more serious and lower tone than before.

"But then came the day when Damos was supposed to return the Jewel of Life back to Arceus," she said. A depiction of an eclipse came on the screen. "The day when the moon covered the sun. Damos instead did not return the Jewel back to Arceus, for he feared that if he did, Michina would go back to a desolated wasteland like before. So he attacked Arceus."

"Feeling profoundly betrayed, Arceus fell into a rage and destroyed the shrine." Kevin explained further. "To heal Himself from the injuries He sustained, Arceus fell into a long sleep."

The projection ended and the lights came back on. The five were stunned as they tried to wrap their heads around all of this information. So due to the terrible acts of one, he doomed humanity to be destroyed when the Original One would awaken.

"That Damos is going to pay a fine for dooming us!" Barry cried. "And I don't care how much it is. Someone is going to pay up."

"Barry, relax." Brock tried to keep the hyperactive trainer calm. "It'll be fine."

"Oh you want me to relax huh?" Barry shot back. "I could have gone home but no, I just had to come here and get involved with you guys. Now we're all going to die!"

Troy grabbed him roughly by his shirt and brought him to within inches from his face.

"Are you finished?" He growled, finally reaching his breaking point with Barry. The hyperactive trainer had been giving him headaches ever since they ran into him and enough was enough.

"It's a new experience for me is all," replied Barry.

Troy shoved him away. "Happens to us all the time."

Grabbing something off of a mantle on a nearby wall, Sheena walked back over to them.

"Damos is...my ancestor," she explained, earning a collective gasp. The case in her hands opened like a blooming flower to reveal a small green orb. "And this is the Jewel of Life."

Everyone stared in awe of the jewel that was before them. To think that a thousand years ago, that little thing was responsible for creating such beauty and yet was also a painful reminder of the rage Arceus held over humanity.

Barry had a small amount of drool hanging out of his mouth as he eyed it. It must be worth a lot of money. He reached out to try and touch it until Troy slapped his hand away.

"Don't even think about it," he admonished.

Sheena turned to read the inscription above the mantle where the case had been. It was written in Ancient Greek, which none of the others could read.

"Return thus to Arceus, the Jewel of Life," she read. "Placate its rage, lest destruction visit this land. It's a message from our ancestors that Arceus will return."

"So that means they realized their mistake." Dawn pieced everything together. "They must have known that we would have to do deal with the consequences of their actions so they wrote that message to have us fix it."

"Good observation, Dawn," Troy smiled. "We have to return that thing back to Arceus. We must protect all that we care about from being destroyed."

Lucario growled in pain before collapsing down to his knee. The pain inside of his head was intense and it was threatening to shatter his mind. Troy quickly bent down to help his Pokémon.

"Lucario, you ok?" He asked, concerned for his partner's condition. "Are there more power waves of energy flowing out?"

Lucario nodded slightly as the pain dulled down.

Suddenly a gong-like sound reverberated throughout the entire room. The time-space axis was going crazy. While Ash and friends were confused as to what was happening, Kevin and Sheena sprang into action. They gave each other looks confirming what they knew.

Sheena looked at the group with a look that confirmed exactly what they had feared.

"It is time." She said.

* * *

 **THE HORROR! Arceus is coming. This is the end! What will happen next with our heroes? Will they be able to return the Jewel to Arceus and save humanity from destruction? Find out next time. Leave a review if you please. It helps me know what I can do to make the story even better for you all. See you all next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I. AM. ALIVE! I am not dead, everybody. I am so sorry to keep you waiting this long but school, life, and a general disinterest in writing kicked my ass these last few months. But no longer. I am going to finish this story if it's the last thing I do.**

 **Let's recap: Our heroes are in Michina Town, where they learn of an ancient prophecy of the return of the Pokémon Arceus that says he will return to slaughter all of mankind after they betrayed him. Now Arceus is finally coming.**

 **Happy New Year everybody. Let's get this show on the road.**

* * *

The sun that had been shining all through the day suddenly was being covered by dark, heavy clouds. Only little rays of sunshine were able to seep through the clouds. The locals all looked up to the sky, finding it odd because the forecast did not call for any rain on this day.

Unseen by the naked eye down below, a dark portal opened in the sky. Flying out of it was none other than the Original Pokémon Himself, Arceus. His eyes roared with the out-of-control fire that raged within Him. The time has now come for Him to complete His revenge against all humans.

Charging up a Judgment attack, there was no going back now for Arceus. He was going to finish the job. He was going to destroy this human settlement and all of the beautiful nature with it, soon the rest of the world.

He launched a bright beam into the air where it exploded into many smaller meteors and went down below, destroying all that they came into contact with. Arceus could hear the pained cries of people down below as the meteors hit Michina Town but His rage controlled His every movement, not caring for the lives He was destroying.

Floating down towards the ruins of the ancient shrine used to honor Him, He was about to charge up a Hyper Beam to destroy it once and for all until footsteps reached His ears.

"Damos?" He voiced, thinking that it was His notorious enemy. Probably come back to try and set things right He supposed.

Instead, He saw a female human running towards Him with a case in her hands. Behind her were six other humans, staring in awe at Him.

"Arceus, please," she begged. "You have got to stop."

His rage never ceasing, Arceus looked at the human with a cautious look but still maintaining the rage inside of Him.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I am a descendant of Damos," Sheena replied, feeling her whole body quiver while in the presence of the Original One, unsure of what he was going to do. "I know my ancestor did a terrible thing to you. I know I cannot change the past but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us."

Behind her, the group of five were halted by Kevin from going any further. They stared in awe of the legendary Pokémon that had supposedly created the entire world.

"That's Arceus?" Ash's eyes were wide as saucers as he looked on.

"Yes," Troy nodded to his apprentice. "The one who supposedly created the world and everything in it. That's Him."

Opening the case that contained the Jewel of Life, Sheena showed it to

Arceus, hoping that seeing it will calm Him enough to reason with.

"This is the Jewel of Life," she explained.

"What?" Arceus replied, shocked that she had the Jewel of Life. How could that be? It was impossible.

"I humbly return this to you," Sheena said. "Please forgive us."

Sheena placed the Jewel on a rock near Arceus and respectfully bowed as she moved back from it. Arceus flew down to inspect it, just to make sure it was the real thing. The tension in the air was so palpable that it could have been cut with a knife.

After inspecting the jewel, the look of interest on Arceus's face turned to one of anger once again.

"You're saying THIS is the Jewel of Life?" He raged before smashing the jewel into a million pieces with a hoof, pieces scattering everywhere and leaving everyone speechless. Arceus's rage turned to Sheena.

"The Jewel of Life is a part of me," His anger building and building until it was a raging fire out of control. "It CANNOT and WILL NOT break!"

Arceus charged up a Hyper Beam, hoping to blow the group of humans into oblivion. Just before He could release it, everyone got out of the way. The effects of the attack were deadly: a giant crater was blown through the ruins behind them. Sheena looked at the rock where she had placed the jewel in shock. She had thought for sure it was the real thing all along, only for it to be a fake in the end.

"A fake," Troy simply observed. "The jewel was a fake all along."

"I truly thought it was the real thing," Sheena sounded defeated. "I really did."

"Ok, that's it!" Barry exclaimed. "I'm fining you for giving it a fake! Because of you, it is going to destroy us all! DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL!"

"Quit it!" Troy growled. This was bad. They needed to figure something out and fast. But what do you do when the God of all Pokémon is on a endless rampage?

"Troy, what do we do?" Brock asked.

"I'm thinking. I'm thinking." Troy replied, wracking his brain for ideas of how to counter this.

"Well whatever you're gonna think, do it fast!" Barry implored, pointing with his mouth open as Arceus charged up another attack towards them.

"I will not allow humanity to deceive me anymore!" Arceus raged as He was about to charge up an attack until Sheena stopped him.

"Arceus, I did not know it was a fake," she bowed respectfully. "Please believe me. Transcend the confines of time and space."

Her spirit went above their dimension to try and calm Arceus' rage, but it was too great and she was immediately shoved out by His anger and vengeance. Kevin immediately rushed forward to help her.

"His rage is too strong," a twinge of fear blending into her voice. "There's no stopping Him now."

Re-charging the attack He was about to blast earlier, Arceus was now going to eliminate them for good. But before the meteors could fall down onto our heroes, Dialga and Palkia, the ruler of space, appeared and stopped them before they could hit. Enraged even further by His two fellow legendaries defending the humans, Arceus attacked Dialga and Palkia, sending Dialga crashing to the ground.

All Ash and the others could do was watch as these events unfolded while trying to stay out of the line of fire.

"What do we do?" Barry cried. "WHAT DO WE DO?!"

"Cool it, Barry," Troy growled before showing the panic on his face. "If there will be any hysterics, THEY'LL COME FROM ME!"

"Both of you stop it!" Dawn slapped them both across the face with one hand.

Arceus fired off a Hyper Beam towards Dialga and Palkia, further causing damage to the two fellow legendaries. Feeling empowered to do something, Ash and Pikachu stepped forward.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" He commanded.

Pikachu did as told and fired off a Thunderbolt towards Arceus, the attack landed and stopped Arceus briefly to look down at the group of humans. Remembering that Arceus gave up His life plate that defended against electricity, Ash had Pikachu unleash another Thunderbolt. Enraged, Arceus shot off another attack, blowing our heroes back a bit. Barry landed on Troy while everyone else remained standing.

"YOU ALL SHALL DIE!" Arceus shouted as He charged up a Hyper Beam. Everyone ran back as quickly as they could in order to escape the worst. The attack launched...only for Giratina to emerge and take the attack instead.

Everyone stared in stunned silence at this turn of events. All three of the legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh legend were standing up to their creator in order to stop His rage. Watching more, they saw Giratina fire a Will-O-Wisp towards Arceus. He used the fire plate to defend from the attack before firing off a Blizzard-like attack towards the three. Only Giratina and Dialga took direct hits while Palkia used a force field to protect itself. Palkia then shot a force field around Arceus, stopping Him from attacking further and giving everyone time to finally relax.

"We've got to do something," Troy finally said. "We have to somehow find a way to go back and stop Arceus. But how do we do that?"

"I'm not sure," Sheena replied. "Unless a time machine was invented, it would be impossible."

It was at that moment that Dialga decided to speak up. He stared directly at Sheena, looking deep into her soul it seemed. Suddenly a bright light surrounded our heroes and then experienced the sensation of being lifted into the air.

"What's happening?" Barry shrieked. "Someone tell me what is going on right now!"

Just as it happened, our heroes then disappeared in the blink of an eye. Only Kevin was left at the site, stunned at this turn of events.

* * *

A feeling of weightlessness overcame everyone. They weren't sure where they were nor how much time had passed. It was like they were only existing until the sensation stopped.

Once the group of six, not including Piplup and Pikachu, finally came to their senses, they realized that they were not where they once were. They were in the same place they had stood but something felt off about it.

Darkness surrounded them and looking around they did not see the three Legendary Pokémon nor Arceus for that matter. Kevin also was gone. Wherever they were, they certainly weren't where they were before.

"Alright, where are we?" Barry demanded. "And why is it so dark out?"

"What's wrong, Barry?" Dawn teased. "Scared of the dark?"

Barry's face turned bright red in anger...and something else too. "Yeah you wish." He folded his arms.

Troy tuned out the exchange by examining their surroundings. Something about this seemed strangely familiar. He looked to the sky to look at the source of the darkness: a solar eclipse. The shadow of the moon was just now passing over the sun at its peak.

"A solar eclipse," he said to himself before turning to the others. "I think we've gone back in time. Look." He pointed towards where the ruins would be and instead saw a grand temple in its place.

"He's right," Sheena spoke up. "We have gone back to the day of the fated promise with Arceus."

Just as she finished, a dimensional portal opened up in the sky. Arceus soon flew out of it and hovered towards the temple itself. Troy, through his aura, could sense that Arceus' rage was virtually nonexistent. Everyone watched in awe as these events unfolded.

"Come on, let's go." Troy led on as everyone followed him towards where the action would be. Going down a flight of stairs, they watched as Arceus reached the temple.

"It is time to return the Jewel of Life," He spoke. Everyone turned to see a man walk towards Arceus with a staff in his hand. It opened like a blooming flower to reveal the gleaming, green jewel to the Original One.

"Here is the Jewel of Life," the man greeted. "I welcome you inside. Please follow me."

He then walked back inside while Arceus floated behind him, unaware of what awaited Him when they got inside. Unaware to Arceus, the man instead pulled a fake jewel while keeping the real one inside the staff. The man placed the fake jewel on a pedestal in the center of the grand room.

"Here," he said. "Now take it!"

Several Pokémon emerged from the rafters above and rained thunder attacks down onto Arceus, who cried out in pain and agony as the attacks landed. The man just stood and watched.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He demanded.

Just as that was happening, the six time travelers walked in to witness the horror of these events. No one could speak, just staring in complete silence, as Arceus started to buckle under the agony of the attacks.

Looking off to the left, Troy recognized the man watching Arceus be attacked. It was Damos. He also saw another man standing near him. This man he did not recognize, maybe he was a friend of Damos. He wasn't sure.

Sheena was the first to speak.

"The time-space axis showed this," she explained. "Damos never returned the Jewel of Life. Instead, he attacked Arceus."

"Ok, this guy is going to get a serious fine!" Barry shouted.

Troy had just one question.

"Hey Sheena," he said. "Who's that beside Damos?"

Sheena looked towards the man beside him. He had dark black hair, a lost look on his face, and a noticeable tribal tattoo on his forearm. She knew him as the other man from the legend, Maximus. Maximus was a famous Aura commander but was lost to history for some unknown reason.

"That is Maximus," she replied. "He was a famous commander of Aura but was somehow lost to history. He was supposedly a friend of Damos."

Returning to the action, the chandelier above was then cut and fell directly on top of Arceus, furthering injuring Him even more while the electric attacks would not stop. A cave in from the ceiling started to happen, large rocks falling on top of the God Pokémon.

Recovering from the onslaught, Arceus looked to the pedestal that held the Jewel of Life. At least He could collect it.

"Can it be?"

Damos answered quickly, thrusting the staff out in front of him. "It's not," he answered. "It's counterfeit."

He opened the staff to reveal the real Jewel of Life. Arceus could feel the energy flowing through it and now knew that it was the real thing.

"This is the real Jewel of Life," he explained. "But I can never get it to you. With this, Michina will flourish forever more and will never return to being a desolate wasteland."

Before more could be said, more rocks dropped onto Arceus, whose rage grew more and more with each passing second. These humans thought they could just take what was rightfully His and never return it? They had another thing coming. Charging up an attack, Arceus would show these insolent humans just what true power really was.

"You have betrayed me," He seethed. "And are trying to destroy me."

The attack was shot into the sky, eventually breaking off into several meteors that reeked destruction on everything they hit. The level that Damos, Maximus, and another man that the group did not recognize was hit. The group watched as they were sent tumbling to their deaths.

Troy realized the danger of the situation and knew that they had to act fast or else meet the same fate. "We have to get out of here! Now!" He cried. The ground under them was becoming unstable and would give way soon if something wasn't done.

"Dialga, send us back further." Sheena pleaded.

"No time for that!" Troy cried, trying to grab everyone together so they could run away.

Unfortunately the ground finally gave way under them. With yells of terror, they fell towards the abyss below. Troy closed his eyes as he awaited his fate along with the others.

* * *

Instead of the hard impact on the ground below, Troy experienced a feeling of the same weightlessness he felt earlier. They were being transported back further in time.

Soon the feeling ended and Troy no longer felt the sensation of falling. Barry, however, was not aware of this and continued to scream as though he were still falling.

"Barry," Troy tried to snap him out of it, but to no avail. "BARRY!"

The energetic blonde finally stopped screaming in terror and looked around. The sun was out, bird Pokémon chirped all around them and the wind blew through their face. They were still in Michina but if seemed different.

"Oh man," he exhaled. "That was the scariest thing ever. Mark my words, someone will pay a fine for this. It's going to be that Damos guy. If I ever..." Barry's words were cut off.

A Heatran emerged, startling the group, and was soon followed by soldiers and guards, about twenty of them, and they all pointed their spears at the group.

* * *

 **Oh boy. Things just got even weirder. What will happen next? Stay tuned for that. Again, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year and let's hope 2017 will be better than this year. 2016 was a rough year but we all got through it. Be sure to leave a review as you read. I want to see what you guys think and see how I can be better and they also motivate me to write even more. See ya.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey gang. Hope you all had a happy new year. I know I certainly did, even with an extended vacation in Florida because of transport troubles in getting out. But I'm back at college now and I'm happy. The updates for the story should be moving along much faster since I don't have as loaded of a schedule this semester.**

 **So let's get back to the action. What will happen to our heroes now? Find out. Let's get the show going.**

* * *

Troy wasn't exactly sure what to think. One minute he and his friends were just looking for a relaxing time and the next they are traveling back in time. Why did this always seem to happen to him every single time?

 _'Ah well,'_ he thought to himself. _'I guess it comes with the territory.'_

Being surrounded by soldiers who were pointing spears at them and a Heatran that had them cornered, Troy was unsure of what was going to happen next. The soldiers looked at them like they had Krabby crawling out of their ears, unsure of what these strange visitors were doing in their town.

"Who are you?" The commander approached them. "You people are strange."

"We are from the future and we bring urgent news," explained Sheena.

Troy groaned internally and tried to come up with something that was more convincing. If he didn't, they were going to be looked at as loons and possibly even killed.

"What she means is," he says. "Is that we are from a distant land and we come to give homage."

"The future?" The commander questions again. "What does she mean?"

"She...uh..." Troy wracked his brain for an explanation. He was probably going to get detraction for this but it had to be done. "She is not well. That is why we came here: to uh...have her healed. She has a fever and is delusional."

He could feel everyone's dirty looks at him but he could not have cared less. He was trying to talk his way out of the situation, not make it worse after all.

"What is going on here?" A new voice calls. It was a gruff, male voice. The group looked up and recognized him instantly. He was the man who stood with Damos and Maximus when Arceus appeared. A Bronzong hovered beside him. Troy had an uneasy feeling about the man. Something about him just oozed sleaziness and other very unsatisfactory things.

"Master Marcus," the commander stood at attention. "Strange people have appeared. They claim to be from the future but also from a distant land."

The man simply walked down the hill towards them, ordering his Bronzong to use Hypnosis to incapacitate the five younger ones and their Pokémon. Everyone, save for Sheena, then stood with dull expressions on their faces and slacked posture. Barry had drool starting to drip out of his mouth.

Marcus turned his attention to Sheena.

"So it is said you are from the future," he examines her. "Is this true?"

"Yes," she nods. "We have come to stop you from confronting Arceus. If something is not done, the future is in grave danger."

Marcus considered her words. It all sounded preposterous. What would a woman know about matters of the future unless she was nothing but a gypsy or lowly fortune teller? He started to turn away until she stopped him once again.

"Please!" She begged. "You have to believe me! The future is in danger and we need to set things right now."

He stops. Maybe there was something he could learn that would be of some use. He decides to give her a chance to explain.

"Very well," he nods before turning to the guards. "Escort her to my quarters and have her wait for me there. Take the others and put them in the cell. Treat them well."

"Yes, Master Marcus!" The soldiers replied at attention. A group of four soldiers, including the commander, accompanied Sheena towards the temple while the rest escorted the hypnotized others towards where the entrance to the dungeon would be.

Unbeknownst to everyone, far above the action were a Pichu and Riolu. They saw everything that had happened and knew something had to be done. Riolu communicated to Pichu that they had to help them escape and knew what to do to make that happen. Pichu simply followed Riolu's lead as they went back inside through the hole in the wall.

* * *

"Come on, keep moving." A soldier pushed Barry along to keep up with the others. Due to the Hypnosis attack, he didn't react, just following along. Drool fell out of his mouth like a waterfall.

The dungeon was dimly lit and reeked of water, moss, and many other things that couldn't be placed. Prisoners were in various cells, watching as the group of five young people were escorted down the corridor.

Finally arriving at the cell where they would be kept, one soldier opened the door while the others shoved them inside. With one slam of the door, Troy snapped awake. He could hardly remember what had happened before he returned to reality. First he remembered time traveling and then being hypnotized by a Bronzong then nothing else.

"Hey what's this all about?" He heard Ash demand. If Ash was awake, then the others had to be too.

"I want my lawyer!" Troy shouted. "Haven't you ever heard of the Miranda rights?"

"You are all going to get fined once I get out of here!" Barry joined in, rattling the bars. He finally noticed the drool on his shirt and groaned to himself. "Ah man, did I drool while I was asleep again?"

It was no good, no matter how much yelling they did. Sitting by their cell was a much older soldier, looking to be about in his fifties. His long hair was white and his beard was as well.

"What do we have here?" He observed the group of five curiously. His voice sounding gruff but kindness precipitated in every word.

"Where are we?" Troy questioned.

"You are in Master Marcus's dungeon and one of his magical creatures used Hypnosis on all of you," he explained.

Ash raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Magical creatures? He wasn't sure what they were talking about.

"I think he's referring to Pokémon," Dawn whispered to Ash.

"Yes," Troy nodded. "In ancient times they were referred to in that way."

"That was a Bronzong," Brock remembered.

"Correct," the old man nodded. "Your friend Sheena was taken to meet with Master Marcus at this moment."

"What about our Poké...I mean magical creatures?" Dawn demanded.

"They are safe with the others." The old man sat down on a bench in front of their cell.

Dawn and Ash sighed in relief, knowing that Pikachu and Piplup were safe. But one thing Ash could not wrap his head around, which were many things if you think about it, was who Marcus was.

"Who is Marcus anyway?" Ash asked aloud.

"A back stabber," a new voice entered. The five of them jumped upon hearing it and looked behind them to see two other men in their cell with them. The one on the right had spoken while the other on the left looked like he was meditating.

"It is true," the man who had spoken said. "Marcus was a former student of mine but then he tricked us and threw us in jail."

"I always had a bad feeling about him," the other man spoke from his meditative state. "Marcus's Aura is clouded and shrouded in mystery. I told you he would one day betray us."

"Hold your peace, Maximus," His friend tried to stop him. "I assure you we will find a way to escape."

Getting a better look at the man sitting on the bench, the group gasped at who it was. It was Damos and the other man turned out to be Maximus. These were the two men who would doom Michina in the future.

They moved closer to the two men.

"You must be..." Dawn started before Ash finished.

"Damos," Ash then turned to the man on the ground. "And Maximus."

The two gasped in disbelief. How did these young people know of them?

"Wait. You say you know of us?" Damos asked.

Troy could tell that things were going to get confrontational quick so he decided to speak for everyone in this instance.

"Of course," he said, trying to come up with the right words to say. "We have heard the story of the great Damos and Maximus and how because of you, Michina turned into this beautiful paradise from a desolate wasteland. We have come to give our appreciations but we were mistaken for thieves."

Barry gave Troy a look of 'what are you doing' before unleashing the rant he had been saving for this occasion.

"That isn't what happened at all," he shook his head. "You two are getting fined big time for not returning the Jewel of Life to...MMMPH!" Troy had covered his mouth with his hand before he could get to the main part.

Troy smiled as big as he could with a nervous chuckle while Barry struggled in his grip. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "He had too much sugar this morning."

Barry suddenly unleashed a torrent of drool onto Troy's hand to get him to let go, which Troy did with a recoiled look of disgust.

"Ew!" He shook his hand free of the drool before he turned to try and kill Barry. Maximus speaking up stopped him from doing just that.

"What does he mean 'not return the Jewel of Life?'" Maximus spoke up.

Ash spoke this time. "He means to ask why you won't return the Jewel of Life to Arceus!" Troy then covered his mouth before he could say anything else, Ash struggling in his grip.

"And why you set a trap for Arceus too!" Dawn pointed accusingly. Troy rolled his eyes and covered Dawn's mouth.

He gazed apologetically again with a nervous chuckle. "Kids say the darnedest things these days," he said. "They have such wild imaginations."

Damos exhaled out of his mouth before responding to these surprising allegations.

"I have no intention of doing such a thing," he replied defensively. "I have every intent of returning the Jewel of Life to Arceus as promised."

Maximus nodded beside him. "He's right. We made a promise and we will fulfill it. Your Aura is clouded by confusion. I have a feeling that someone fooled you into thinking that we will."

The guard at the door spoke up.

"The two of them are right," he said. "I know that Damos and Maximus have every intent on returning the Jewel back to Arceus. What my concern is is whether that is the right action to take."

Everyone then felt stupid. They realized there may have been more to the story than what had been told to them.

Troy and Maximus locked eyes, both felt...something stir within them. Neither could really place it but through their Aura they felt as though they may be connected in some way. But as soon as the feeling came, it dissipated just as quickly and Troy turned to his companions.

"We need to talk for a second, guys." He said.

Troy gathered everyone together into a huddle, moving away from Damos and Maximus so they could talk amongst themselves.

"Excuse us for one second," he told them before turning to his companions. He talked quietly so Damos and Maximus could not hear them.

"The story must not have taken Marcus into account," he said. "So there has to be something that we are missing."

"But what is it? How could what we have seen before be any different?" Dawn inquired.

Brock then chimed in with his analysis. "Maybe it has to do with Bronzong's Hypnosis. That look on Damos's face tells me he may have been manipulated by Marcus through Bronzong to not return the Jewel."

Troy gave Brock a look that could only be described as 'you are a genius.'

"Brock, that is a good thought. It may be the case." He exclaimed loudly. He realized his mistake and tried to cover it up but it was too late. Damos and Maximus noticed.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Damos asked.

Before Troy could speak, Ash jumped in first.

"We have come from the future," he said.

"Ash!" Troy chastised.

"The future?" Maximus raised an eyebrow. "That cannot be."

"It is," Ash nodded. "Allow us to explain."

* * *

Sheena was growing frustrated. She had been sitting at the table across from Marcus for an hour and her story was not getting through to him. She started at the beginning, explaining how she and the others came from the future and what would happen, but her story was met with skepticism.

"How many ways do I have to tell the same story?" She voiced her frustrations. "I'm telling you the truth."

Marcus sat across the table from this strange young woman. She had been rattling off nonsense about how Damos and Maximus would betray Arceus by not returning the Jewel of Life to Him and how it had deep repercussions for the future. It all sounded like the tales of a madwoman. Maybe there was something he could pull from this to use himself.

"It just sounds odd to me," he finally said. His Heatran and Bronzong hovered around him. "What kind of things will end up happening if the Jewel of Life is not returned?"

Sheena took a deep breath as the images of him, Damos and Maximus falling into the abyss went through her head.

"Terrible things upon you, Damos, and Maximus," she replied, fear permeating her voice. "And Michina itself will be in great danger not just now but in the future if Arceus does not get the Jewel back."

Marcus simply exhaled in curiosity. The look he gave her did not show that he was convinced by her story.

"I see," he simply said.

"Please! You have to listen to me!" Sheena begged. "The actions you take now will forever have consequences for the future."

Upon hearing that, Marcus took a deep breath before deciding to listen more. This girl would be easy to control if he could get all of the details of her story. This could be his primed opportunity.

"Very well," he nodded. "Tell me everything once again. This time, do not leave any details out."

* * *

 **Is it just me or is Marcus more sleazy than we think he is? Find out soon. Also find out what Damos and Maximus will learn from Ash and the others. Stay classy, Fanfiction. Be sure to leave a review as you read so I can make adjustments if need be or just to tell me how much you like the story. See you all next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I'm back again much quicker this time. I am more motivated to finish this story than ever before. Not sure what I will do after I finish this story though but for now this is my focus. Right now our heroes are briefing Damos and Maximus on what will happen in the future and Sheena is unknowingly being played by Marcus.**

 **Enjoy. Troy used to belong to me but he is the property of LEGAL EAGLE53 and the others are property of Nintendo.**

* * *

"So you are saying that we end up betraying Arceus?" Damos asked.

After hearing how everything would play out from the beginning, he did not know how to react. He and Maximus would not return the Jewel of Life to Arceus and end up falling to their deaths when Arceus goes on a rampage. Also hearing that magical creatures are referred to as Pokémon in the future, it was a little much to take in.

"Originally yes," Troy nodded. "The two of you are like Rasputin to the people of Michina in the future: not very popular individuals. But now we are not sure that is the case. So much has happened within the last hour or so that it is hard to tell what is truth and what is false."

Maximus decided to speak. Like his friend, he was surprised how history can twist events and make one person look terrible.

"As if we would ever betray Arceus after what He has done for us," he said. "Damos, let's tell them the story."

Damos nodded. "I agree."

* * *

 _-Flashback: three years ago-_

 **"Three years ago, Michina was nothing more than a wasteland. All of that would change one night as Maximus and I were walking through the hills."**

 _A desolate wasteland. No green anywhere you looked, just miles and miles of dirt on the ground, dead trees, tumble weeds, among other things. The evening air blew cold, so cold that no one would find relief even by a fire. The dark night sky gave way to millions of stars. It was the stars alone that would give a sense of refuge to anyone who would look._

 _This is the scene that Damos and Maximus saw as they walked through the hills of Michina. The two of them had been friends for as long as they could remember, despite Maximus having the mysterious ability to control the life force known as Aura. The two of them pulled their robes around their faces to keep the air from chilling them even further. They were planning on heading back soon after checking around the area._

 _Without warning, meteors came careening through the sky and landing on the earth with loud booms. The two rushed to where they heard the noises and watched in horror as more came. Soon the entire countryside was lit up with meteors crashing and echoing booms._

 _"Damos, what do we do?" Maximus questioned._

 _"I...I don't know," Damos sighed, his head drooping in defeat. "If this keeps up, it's the end of everything as we know it."_

 _To add to their fear, the two men saw a bigger meteor than the ones that had fallen before plummeting towards the Earth. It looked about the size of a small asteroid but still big enough to strike fear into their hearts. The burning fireball was getting closer and closer._

 _Just as it seemed like the end, a portal opened up beside them and Arceus emerged, flying towards the meteor. They looked on in awe as Arceus surrounded Himself with a force field by using the life plates that He possessed. Small meteors just bounced right off of the purple field of energy._

 _Arceus flew into the giant meteor and did everything in His power to destroy it. Onlookers saw a bright light illuminating the dark sky as the struggle between Pokémon and meteor reached a breaking point. With one giant wave of light and energy, the meteor was no more. Only pieces of it flew down to earth, emitting loud booms as they crashed to the ground. Arceus's force field was broken and He too fell to earth, the life plates scattering in different places._

 _Damos and Maximus watched in amazement at what has just happened. Arceus had saved them all from certain death and destruction, even if it meant jeopardizing His own life in return. The two of them felt enormous gratitude and respect for the legendary Pokémon in that moment._

 _"We must help," Maximus said._

 _Damos nodded in agreement. The two then ran towards the site of where Arceus had fallen._

 _The sight before them almost made them want to turn away. Arceus was lying there on the ground, not moving or even conscious. Many different Pokémon surrounded Arceus, trying to awaken Him and see if He is alright. The two feared the worst had happened. Snow was starting to fall and the bitter cold winds swirled around them, chilling them to the bone._

 _Maximus closed his eyes and used his Aura powers to sense any signs of life coming from Arceus, hoping that He would be so they could thank Him for saving their lives. Maximus was considered a Master of Aura and used it for various purposes such as sensing the presence of others, sensing emotions or intent, and many other things._

 _Feeling Arceus's life force strongly flowing, Maximus sighed in relief that Arceus was still alive._

 _"He is alive," he reported._

 _Damos felt a presence near them so he decided to go and investigate what it could be. He left Maximus with instructions to look after Arceus, which his friend was all too happy to do._

 _Carefully sliding down a bank of rocks, almost slipping a few times, Damos found what the presence was: it was one of Arceus's life plates. It glowed briefly in his hands as he picked it up. Tucking it under his arm, Damos carried it back to where Maximus and the other Pokémon were keeping Arceus warm from the freezing weather._

 _"I found one of His life plates," Damos explained to the Aura master. "Maybe this will help revitalize him."_

 _"It is certainly worth a try," Maximus agreed._

 _The wheel on Arceus's body glowed along with the plate as it neared Arceus. Feeling it moving against him, Damos let the plate go as it drifted over to Arceus before being absorbed into Him. The wheel grew brighter and before they knew it, the other life plates all flew towards Arceus from wherever they had landed, almost like they had homing beacons implanted within them._

 _When the last one had been absorbed, Arceus began to glow with a bright yellow light. Damos and Maximus shielded their eyes from the sheer brightness of it. Soon, the bright light from Arceus gave way to the rising of the sun from behind the hills, lighting up the entire valley. Arceus rose from the ground, looking as good as ever, and looked upon the two humans and the Pokémon below._

 _"Humans," He addressed in his majestic voice. "Are you the ones who saved me?"_

 _"N-no, Arceus," Damos trembled in His presence. "It is you who saved us."_

 _Maximus kneeled down onto his right knee and bowed in respect to the Pokémon, encouraging Damos to do the same, which he did._

 _"We pledge our deepest gratitude to you," Maximus said respectfully. "We thank you, Arceus. Without you, our world would have been destroyed. We are forever in your debt."_

 _XXXXXXXXXX_

 _ **"But many terrible things had happened to Michina. Our beloved town struggled for its survival."**_

 _Damos and Maximus looked over the land from the hilltops, though there really was not much to look at. All there was was miles of wasteland and no signs of life out in the fields. Something had to be done or else starvation would slowly kill the town's population._

 _"We will not survive the winter at this rate," Damos declared sadly, fearing for the lives of every single one of Michina's citizens._

 _"I know, but there has to be something that we can do," Maximus added. "There must be another way."_

 _Arceus flew down so that He was standing beside the two of them. He too saw the despair of the land before Him and sympathized with the humans' plight._

 _"You want to revitalize this land, don't you, Maximus? Damos?" He observed._

 _Both men nodded._

 _"More than anything," Maximus elucidated. "We worry of our people and how they will survive the cold. Many people here are dying of hunger and it angers me that we can't do anything to fix the situation."_

 _Looking into their thoughts, Arceus could see the world that they were imagining Michina to be: a river flowed through rich land, towering fields of wheat and corn, and green as far as the eye could see. A beautiful valley that would sustain the people of Michina for generations to come. Seeing this vision moved Arceus so greatly that He decided that He had to do something._

 _"How pitiful," He said sadly. "Alright, I shall lend you my strength to help you."_

 _Calling forth the life plates, Arceus removed the plates of water, electricity, grass, and ground fused together with the power of dragon to create the Jewel of Life. Arceus presented it to Maximus and Damos while the two stared in awe._

 _"Use this Jewel of Life for the greater good," Arceus told them. "To make the land rich and fertile and to save your people. But without the Jewel, my life is diminished. Damos, Maximus, I am trusting you both with my life. It could not be in better hands."_

 _The Jewel rested itself in Damos's hands. The two of them were so moved that tears began to well up in their eyes. Their gratitude and thankfulness knew no ends for the Pokémon._

 _"Arceus, we thank you so much." Damos thanked._

 _"You have no idea what this means to us, Arceus." Maximus sniffled. "Thank you. We promise that we will return it back when the time is right."_

 _Putting one hand on the jewel, feeling the energy flowing through it, Damos and Maximus raised it high over their heads. A green light emerged from the Jewel and spread its way across the valley like a massive flood. Almost instantaneously, fields of green sprouted out of the ground like daisies and a river flowed through the valley. Many trees also emerged, giving the land a natural beauty._

 _Damos and Maximus could hardly contain their emotions. It was more beautiful than they could ever have imagined it to be. Their happiness knew no bounds as they stared out onto the now-beautiful land._

 **"And so we continued our work to revitalize the land. For those long years, we achieved that goal. We made a promise to Arceus that we would return the Jewel of Life when the moon next covers the sun. We also constructed a shrine to Arceus to show our immense and eternal gratitude for Him."**

-Present-

Damos looked outside the cell towards where a glimmer of sunlight came through.

"And today is when the moon will cover the sun." He explained, finishing their tale.

The five time travelers stared in gaping awe. Sure, they had heard the story from the legend but to actually hear it from the people who experienced it themselves was just something else. Troy especially was floored by the story.

"Wow..." He said, feeling at a loss for words. "And that is what today is. The day when the solar eclipse will happen."

* * *

"And that is exactly how it happened."

Marcus took in every single detail that Sheena had described to him; that Damos would switch the real Jewel of Life with a fake one and he used Pokémon to attack Arceus. The gears inside of his head were turning, and not in a good way. You see, Marcus had been waiting for a chance like this to come around. He was tired of playing third fiddle to Damos and Maximus, the heroes of Michina, and wanted his own slice of the pie. Then when Sheena arrived and told him everything, he finally saw his opportunity.

"Hmm," he contemplated. "Would you mind telling me what attacks Damos and Maximus may have used?"

"They used several electric attacks and dropped a chandelier on Arceus," Sheena explained, unaware of Marcus's real intentions.

"I see," a small smile crept onto the corner of his mouth, small enough not be seen by Sheena. "Did they happen to use silver water as well?"

Sheena shook her head. "I don't believe so."

Marcus's smile grew even bigger that it looked like a smirk but he tried to keep a poker face for her.

"I guess they never thought of it," he said, more to himself than the young woman across from him. He now knew what he had to do and it was all thanks to this naïve girl. He should remind himself to thank her later when his goal has been accomplished.

"Understood," he spoke loudly this time. "Maximus and Damos will not get away with this deception. The Jewel of Life will be returned to Arceus and it will be all because of you. In fact, you should have the honor of returning it to Arceus."

"Thank you," Sheena was overcome with emotion. Everything was going to be fixed and the future will be just fine. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"No," he secretly smirked to himself. "You have no idea how much it means to _me_."

Opening the staff that contained the Jewel of Life, Marcus stared at its exquisite beauty for one brief second before stuffing it in his robes before closing the top of the staff. He stuck it out as an offering to her.

"Let's go," he said. "History needs changing."

Sheena nodded her head in agreement. She took the staff from his hand and walked on ahead. Marcus stayed behind for a brief second. He chuckled maniacally with his evil plan in mind and how because of this girl, it will succeed. The tone of his laugh rose in tempo and his red eyes glowed more evilly. After recovering from that, he followed Sheena.

* * *

"One thousand bottles of Coke on the wall, one thousand bottles of Coke," Barry sang as he stared at the wall. "Take one down, pass it around, 999 bottles of Coke on the wall."

Troy gave the blonde an annoyed look and was about to reprimand him again but something stopped him from doing just that. Turning to look, he noticed Maximus staring at him. Troy looked deep into the mysterious green eyes that seemed like a mirror image of his own. Feeling his Aura, Troy could feel some similarities but maybe it was all too good to be true.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Maximus questioned the young man looking at him like an animal in a cage.

"I'm sorry," Troy nodded in respect before gesturing to the necklace that Maximus had around his neck. It was a long silver chain that had an Aura symbol dangling from the bottom. "I couldn't help but notice that necklace you have. I have one just like it. I was told it was an old family heirloom or something."

Troy dug his hands into the neck of his shirt to reveal the necklace. The connection felt between the two was even stronger than before. They waited for one to speak...until a small breeze made its way through the cell, moving the flame within the torch on the far side of the room. Damos got up first before Maximus followed.

"We must go," Damos said. "We have to return the Jewel of Life to Arceus."

"But how are you going to get out?" Dawn asked.

"Screw that!" Barry commented. "How are WE going to get out of here? That is more important."

"Barry, shut up." Troy snapped, breaking his train of thought on the necklace he wore. "Go back to doing your bottle song."

Damos simply smiled. "You don't need to worry about that," he chuckled. "I have friends in other places as well."

Just as he said that, a panel in the floor opened and a Pichu and Riolu emerged from the floor and scurried over to the two men. The Pichu had a set of keys around its ear and handed them to Damos.

"Thank you, Pichu," he smiled at the little mouse.

Right behind the two, Pikachu and Piplup also emerged from the hole, joyously rushing over to their trainers while Dawn and Ash were happy to be reunited with their Poké explained to Damos how it was Riolu's idea to save them, which he understood thanks to his ability to connect his heart to those of Pokémon.

Using the keys to open the door, Damos opened it, allowing everyone to walk out of there. He threw the keys over to the guard.

"You didn't see anything," he told him.

"I didn't see anything." The guard nodded his head and snuck the keys under his chest armor. Damos and Maximus turned to the five younger people.

"Farewell, children of the future," Damos thanked. "I cannot thank you enough. I hope we meet again someday."

"May the Aura guide you," Maximus bowed before turning to his friend. "We must return the Jewel of Life to Arceus."

Damos nodded and the two ran up the staircase to escape from the dungeon, leaving our heroes standing at the foot of the steps.

"Well what do we do now?" Barry asked, happy to finally be free.

"We find Sheena and then find a way to get back to the future," Troy said. "And sadly we don't have a car to get up to 88 miles per hour to make that happen."

"That's a good plan, Troy," Brock nodded. "Let's go."

They all took off up the stairs, unaware that outside, trouble was now only beginning.

* * *

A/N: And it gets even more interesting. Will Marcus be stopped? Will the Jewel of Life be returned? Find out over these next couple of chapters. As I said, not sure what the future holds for me after this story. I'm so busy with school and life that I'm not sure what I will do next. But I will take it one day at a time. Be sure to leave a review as you read, they really do help. See you all soon. Bye.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well, here we are. A little overdue but it's still really good. This time we get into the main action. Will the Jewel of Life be returned or will history be repeated? Find out.**

* * *

A shadow is cast over the entire valley that surrounds Micihina Town. Looking up into the sky, onlookers would think that dark clouds were approaching in preparation for a thunderstorm. They would be wrong in this instance however. The shadow of the moon was beginning its pass over the sun in the eclipse that was due to happen on this very day.

A portal, unable to be seen from far below, opened and out came Arceus. The God Pokémon flew towards the shrine, expecting to find Damos and Maximus waiting for Him with the Jewel of Life ready to be returned.

Flying inside of the shrine, Arceus was surprised to see no one there to greet Him. Surely Damos and Maximus would have been waiting for Him.

"It is time to return the Jewel of Life." He announced, hoping someone would respond in kind.

Arceus felt a presence below and looked down to see what it was. He saw Sheena walk out onto the deck with the staff in hand.

"My name is Sheena," she announced, thrusting the staff outward towards Arceus. "Here is the Jewel of Life."

Arceus was confused. Who was this human and why was she in possession of the Jewel of Life? Where were Damos and Maximus?

"Where are Damos and Maximus?" He questioned. "Did something happen to them?"

"They are not coming," Sheena replied. "They were going to betray you."

Betray Him? That was impossible. It did not seem right to Arceus one bit.

"That cannot be," He denied. "You lie!"

"Please, believe me!" Sheena begged. She opened the top of the staff to show she had the Jewel of Life. "But I have the Jewel..."

It was empty. The Jewel was not where it was previously. She gasped at this turn of events. How could this have happened? Marcus! Sheena realized that he was the one to have the staff before she did, which meant he took the Jewel and gave her the empty staff in order to throw off Arceus.

Above her, Marcus stood along with his Heatran and Bronzong. He gave a signal with his hand and out of nowhere, many electric Pokémon emerged from the shadows. All together, they shot off electric attacks towards Arceus. Arceus roared in pain as the attacks hit their target and the electricity surged through His body.

"YOU HAVE DECEIVED ME!" He raged to the young woman before him, thinking that she was the one behind this.

"That is not true," Sheena tried to defend herself but she lost control of the staff and it fell into the water below. After the splash of the staff meeting the water, a small ripple turned into a gigantic whirlpool almost. Water fell into the hole that was revealed once it drained.

"Now pour the silver water." Marcus then commanded.

High above them, large vats of liquid concrete poured down into the abyss, colliding with Arceus and bringing Him down into the hole. Arceus tried to escape but the liquid hardened before that could happen, thus leaving Him susceptible to the attacks from the Pokémon above. Arceus roared in pain as the electricity surged through Him.

Sheena gave an enraged glare towards Marcus. She should have known he did not intend to help her, only to help himself. He revealed the Jewel of Life from his robes and held it out for her to see.

"Looking for this?" He smugly taunted her. "Don't expect me to simply hand it over. Thank you for revealing what the future will bring, my dear. Because of you, I can now change history. It will remember the name Marcus the Fourth for all eternity!"

"You're a monster!" She seethed. "How could you do something like this?"

Marcus smirked even more as he gave his explanation. "It is quite simple," he said. "I have been overshadowed by Maximus and Damos my entire life. So to step out of the shadows, I hatched a plan to find a way to get rid of Arceus myself. Then you, my dear Sheena, came and provided me the perfect opportunity to get back at them. For that, I thank you." He then started to chuckle before turning into a full-blown cackle.

More liquid concrete was poured from high above into the pit that Arceus lay in, further trapping Him inside. If something was not done fast, then Arceus will end up dying.

* * *

Above the action, Troy and his younger companions were just in time to witness all that was happening. To their dismay, they were too late to stop anything. The electric attacks did not seem to end while gallons of liquid concrete continued to be poured down into the hole.

"Maybe we're too late," Ash gave a defeated sigh.

Troy looked around to see if that was correct. He did not see Damos or Maximus so that could be crossed off. It was when he noticed Sheena down below that something was off.

"Look," he pointed towards her direction. "There's Sheena. Marcus must have used her to figure out what would happen and then used it himself. He must be stopped."

"Well what can we do?" Barry shot. "He has two Pokémon with him and there's no way we can beat him."

Troy turned to glare at him. A smile worked its way onto his face, the kind of smile that suggested a crazy idea. "Well we're just going to have to try."

They then watched as Sheena tried desperately to stop the Pokémon from attacking, but none seemed to listen. Then a fall of liquid concrete struck the deck she stood on, causing it to become unbalanced and threatening to throw her off. Just before that could happen, a hand stuck out and grabbed her arm and pulled her back before the deck collapsed. The hand belonged to Damos, which earned a collective sigh of relief from the group.

Troy looked to his apprentice. "Ash, let's go."

Ash nodded in understanding and the two began running towards the staircase that led to the top level. A loud voice from behind stopped them from going up.

"Hey wait up!" Barry ran towards them. "I want to fight too."

"No, Barry," Troy immediately shook his head. "It's too dangerous. I can't be responsible for whatever happens to you."

"I don't care," Barry retorted, determination present in his orange eyes. "I want to do something for a change. I'm tired of being the guy who complains about everything. I want to fight."

"I'm sorry, but no."

"You have to trust me. I won't get in your way."

Troy was now stuck in a difficult situation. He was glad that Barry decided to stand up and do something that helped but he didn't want to drag him into this conflict. He and Ash could handle themselves just fine but he was unsure about Barry. He looked to Ash, who nodded. He sighed.

"Ok," he nodded. "Ok. You can come with us."

Barry would have leaped for joy if Troy hadn't stuck his finger out conditionally.

"But," he said. "If you get in our way or do something stupid, I will not hesitate to kill you myself."

Barry nodded his head rapidly in understanding. "You have my word."

"Alright. Let's go." The three of them ran up the stairs, leaving Brock and Dawn to figure out what to do on their own.

* * *

Marcus watched as his entire plan unfolded in front of him. The Pokémon were were continuing their attacks just as he planned and buckets of liquid concrete were being poured in by the gallon. Soon Arceus would be no more and history would forever remember him as the one who saved Michina from desolation.

"Stop this!" A voice cried out, interrupting his thoughts.

Marcus turned to see three younger males with the intent of stopping him ingrained in their eyes. He should have known that the prisoners would escape eventually to stop him.

"You have no idea what you are doing," Troy pointed an accusatory finger. "Return the Jewel of Life to Arceus."

"Or else you are going to get fined so much that your descendants are still going to be paying off the debt!" Barry added with a finger point of his own.

"It's too late for that now," Marcus retaliated. "The Jewel of Life is ours now. Michina will forever flourish and will not be a desolate wasteland ever again."

Troy growled to himself. This guy just did not understand what he was doing. He thought he was doing good for the people but knew it was all about himself.

"You just want the power," he seethed. "That's all this is about."

Marcus frowned at him. "You have no idea what it is like to be overshadowed. To not get any credit for things. Damos and Maximus have taken the credit for everything that I had done and treat me like I'm dead. Well not anymore. Now I will get the credit I so rightfully deserve for changing history."

Troy shook his head. "You really are a madman," he muttered. "We will not let you get away with this."

Marcus stuck out the Jewel of Life in a tantalizing manner. "If you want it," he taunted. "Come and claim it."

His Heatran and Bronzong stepped forward, ready to attack and defend their master. Barry called out his Empoleon and Troy released Lucario. The two Pokémon stood with Pikachu to go after Heatran and Bronzong, leaving Barry and Ash to command them. Lucario knew what Troy was going to do: confront Marcus himself.

"You guys take care of the Pokémon while I take care of Marcus," Troy ordered.

"Will you be ok?" Ash asked, unsure if his mentor and friend would be ok.

Troy smirked.

"Yes, Ash," he replied. "I will be just fine. But those two need to be stopped."

Ash nodded. He and Barry then took fighting positions with the three Pokémon in front of them, leaving Troy to deal with Marcus.

Troy removed his shirt and tossed it to the ground, revealing his tattoos and scars to Marcus. The two of them stared each other down, like two men in a Western movie sizing each other up in a duel before the draw. Troy was going to do whatever it took to take the Jewel of Life from his filthy hands and make things right.

"You foolish boy," Marcus taunted. "You do not know what you are doing."

"No. It is you who is foolish," Troy shot back. "If I am to end this, then I will."

Releasing a cry of determination, Troy charged towards Marcus. Troy dodged a punch aimed for his head and punched Marcus in the stomach, causing the man to double over in pain. An elbow onto the neck brought Marcus to the ground but he swept Troy's legs from under him before anymore damage could be done. Taking advantage of the situation, Marcus dropped himself on top of Troy. The two of them wrestled for control, Troy trying to rip the Jewel of Life out of his hands while Marcus tried to keep it in his grasp.

"Why are you doing this?" Troy demanded as he held the top position before being rolled over onto his back by Marcus.

"Because with Arceus destroyed, there will be no reason for Him to return in the future," Marcus explained. "I am changing history and you all will thank me for it."

"You're crazy!" Troy pushed Marcus off of him and stood up. After catching their breath, the two clashed once again.

* * *

Ash and Barry were having a difficult time taking care of Heatran and Bronzong. They could not land a solid attack without being pushed back further towards the edge of the walkway. Also the much stronger attacks from the two opposing Pokémon contributed to their hardship.

"Get 'em, Empoleon! Use Hydro Cannon!" Barry commanded his partner Pokémon.

The fully evolved form of Piplup charged up a small sphere of water before releasing it towards its opponents. While Bronzong was able to get out of the way, Heatran suffered most of the damage from the attack. Barry chuckled confidently at his initial victory until Heatran came back with a Fire Spin attack, which knocked Empoleon back a bit.

Lucario ran along the walls, charging up his speed, before unleashing a Bone Rush attack on Bronzong from behind, causing damage until the psychic Pokémon brushed him off with a Gyro Ball attack, sending Lucario jumping back in front of Ash and Barry.

"They just will not give up!" Barry cried helplessly. "What are we gonna do?"

"We just have to hold on for a little longer, Barry," Ash replied, teeth gritted in frustration. "That's the only thing we can do."

While the two of them were trying to figure out what to do, Heatran and Bronzong prepared to fire off attacks towards them. This caught the two young trainers by surprise and would have been blown off the landing by the attacks had it not been for Bubble Beam and Vacuum Wave attacks coming in and stopping the attacks dead.

They turned to see Dawn and Maximus running towards them with Piplup and Riolu joining the group of Pokémon.

"Need a hand?" Dawn teased.

"Dawn," Ash smiled, happy to see help had arrived. "That would be just great."

Riolu bounded over to his evolved form, telling Lucario what he planned to do. Lucario nodded in understanding and the two went after the two opposing Pokémon. Just as Heatran and Bronzong charged up attacks, the two diverted to the sides and began their attack. Riolu blasted Force Palm while Lucario did the same, doing severe damage to the two Pokémon.

"Nice work, Riolu," Maximus encouraged his Pokémon partner.

The small Aura Pokémon smiled at Lucario and Lucario reciprocated the action. Without warning, the two were sent back by a Fire Blast from Heatran.

"These guys just will not give up," Barry groaned again.

Ash gritted his teeth in frustration. There had to be something that could be done. But what was it?

* * *

Damos looked around in horror as the electric attacks continued relentlessly. He could not believe that it all had come to this. Something had to be done in order to save Arceus and he knew what it was.

Turning to the girl beside him, Damos ordered her to give him her hand. She gave a look of uncertainty for a moment until she figured out what he wanted to do. Clutching their hands together, they transcended time and space. Brock watched on in amazement, interested in what the two were doing.

"Everyone, please stop," Damos pleaded. "Arceus sacrificed His very life to save our land. We have all been deceived. Please stop your attacks right now."

"He's right," Sheena agreed. "You have a chance to set things right. Do the right thing."

One by one, the attacks stopped until no one was attacking anymore. Up on the ledge, Ash, Barry, Dawn, and Maximus all noticed this. Looking down, they noticed Damos and Sheena and put two and two together, thankful that the attacks had stopped.

Marcus, on the other hand, was not as pleased. He was shocked to see all of the attacks stopping at that moment. The fury inside of him burned even hotter than before. These meddling kids and their dumb Pokémon were not going to ruin his plan!

"Heatran, Bronzong, finish them!" He commanded.

But the two Pokémon did not do as he said, instead they stayed right where they were, not making a single move. He could not understand this.

"I order you to attack now!" He was practically foaming at the mouth with rage at that moment.

Heatran and Bronzong still refused to move. Bronzong even stopped floating to show its defiance to Marcus. Pikachu and Piplup rushed forward while charging up attacks, Iron Tail for Pikachu and Peck for Piplup. The two destroyed their harnesses, freeing them from Marcus's control.

"You see this, Marcus?" Troy taunted. "You've lost your power over them. It's over. Surrender."

Even though he was backed into a corner, Marcus was going to go down fighting rather than laying down.

"Never," he defied. "Michina will go back to being a wasteland without the Jewel of Life. Desolation will return!"

"But there will be nothing left to save if the Jewel of Life is not returned," Maximus stepped forward. "Your Aura is clouded by greed, Marcus. Let go of your ego and use sense to see our words."

Marcus gave Maximus the biggest death glare in history. "You fool," he sneered. "It is because of you and Damos that I never got credit for anything. It's because of the two of you that I ended up in this situation. Arceus will die here and there is nothing you can do about it."

All Troy could do was shake his head. Marcus was nothing but a pathetic, scared child underneath all of this power. He was not worth the time and energy.

"You're pathetic," he uttered.

Troy turned his back to Marcus and began walking back to his companions. Marcus's face tensed in anger at the sign of disrespect. He was going to put Troy in his place. Snaking a hand under his robe, Marcus's hand clutched a knife that he had hidden. Without a word of warning, Marcus charged toward Troy with the knife in a stabbing position.

"Troy, look out!" Ash cried.

Troy turned to see Marcus come forward with the knife but it was too late. Marcus plunged the knife into Troy's abdomen. Troy grunted in pain as the knife surged through him, piercing his skin and settling into his stomach. Everything went quiet to him, he couldn't even hear Ash, Dawn, and Lucario scream his name in horror. All he could see was Marcus's cold red eyes and mouth curved in a sneer.

Marcus roughly removed the knife from his body, allowing the blood to pour out freely. Troy pressed a hand against the wound to try and stop the flow of blood, stumbling close to the ledge. With one final move, Marcus kicked Troy in the midsection and into the abyss below.

"NOOOOOO!" Ash cried, tears flowing freely from his eyes.

* * *

 **A/N: Is this the end of Troy already? Will Marcus be stopped? Find out next time. Leave a review if you please. They really help me. Catch y'all on the flip side.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry I'm a little late with this chapter, gang, but I have been hampered by a busy schedule and overall laziness. None of that matters anymore though. I'm just glad that I was able to get this out now than never. You know what they say ;-)**

 **So recapping: Our heroes try to stop Marcus's plot and were very close to succeeding until Marcus stabbed Troy in the stomach and kicked him over the ledge to his supposed death. Without Troy to help them right now, will our heroes stop him? Find out.**

 **Don't own anything here. Pokémon and its characters are property of Game Freak and Troy, though he used to belong to me, is property of LEGAL EAGLE53. Enjoy the show, ladies and gents.**

* * *

Ash could only kneel. It seemed like gravity was doing everything in its power to make sure that he did not get up. Tears soaked the ground beneath him as he mourned the loss of his mentor and friend. He pounded the ground in agony as his equally pained cries echoed throughout the room. Everything had happened so fast that it took a few seconds to register the fact that Troy was dead. He didn't want to believe it but the proof was right in front of him.

Dawn cried into Maximus' tunic as he did his best to comfort her while Lucario just stared in disbelief, unable to register the events that had happened. He too did not want to believe that his trainer was gone. Tears trickled down Lucario's cheeks as he silently cried to himself. Barry, for once, was speechless and stared with a lost expression, like he was a survivor of a plane crash.

Marcus snickered at the grieving group of kids and Pokémon.

"There goes your best chance of stopping me," he smirked sadistically, carelessly tossing the Jewel of Life up into the air so it would fall back in his hand.

Ash breathed heavily from his nose and out through his mouth in a total fit of rage. This monster was not going to get away with his crime, even if it costs him his own life as well. Troy's death would not go unavenged so long as he had a say about it.

"I won't let you get away with this!" He stopped on each word to show his rage towards the man.

Marcus cackled loudly at Ash's declaration.

"And what makes you think that you can defeat me, kid?" He taunted. "If your friend could not stop me, then how can you?"

Ash was finally able to stand up, rage surging through his body, and prepared to charge.

"Because I have something worth defeating you for," he replied.

With a cry, Ash charged towards Marcus to claim the Jewel of Life from his hands. The two struggled with Marcus trying to hold him off but Ash's determination and anger were enough to fuel him to push harder than he had before. Ash was able to wrap his left hand around Marcus's arm that held the Jewel of Life. In the struggle to hold on to it, Marcus accidentally tossed it out of his hand.

The two watched as it rolled down a draining system and almost into a pipe. Riolu caught it and tried to bring it up but he couldn't hold on much longer and it fell into the pipe towards the abyss below. Ash immediately dove down to try and catch it.

He caught onto a wood beam and as he saw the jewel fall from the pipe, he caught the precious object with his feet. Sighing with relief, he felt the jewel start to slip from his grasp. He heard Pikachu yell at him from down below.

"Ready, Pikachu?" He called, letting the Jewel of Life fall from his feet. "Here it comes."

It took a few breathtaking seconds until Pikachu finally was able to corral the shining green sphere. Without warning, the beam Ash was holding on to broke off. He cried out as he start to fall through the air, Pikachu crying out in concern.

A hand grabbed his before he could get far. Ash couldn't see who it was because his eyes were closed from fear.

"What would you do without me sometimes?"

That voice. It couldn't be. Ash opened his eyes to see the forest green ones of his mentor and friend, Troy Black. Troy was barely holding on to the wooden walkway above him and his other hand held Ash. The stab wound in the middle of his abdomen was somehow healed, like it wasn't even there to begin with. Only a nasty scar was in its place.

"Troy?" A relieved smile came onto Ash's face, as well as a few tears of relief. "I thought you were dead."

Troy groaned as he struggled to pull Ash up.

"You think some psycho can take out Troy Black?" He asked incredulously. "Thanks for the load of confidence, Ashy."

Ash gave Troy some help by grabbing one of the metal rods underneath the walkway and pulling his other arm up along with the one Troy had in his grasp. The two of them then climbed up onto the walkway and flopped down onto the ground to catch their breath. Pikachu scurried over to make sure the two of them were ok.

"We're just fine, Pikachu," Ash smiled. "Thanks."

The two of them got up, dusting themselves off. Ash embraced Troy in a rib-crushing hug, thankful that he was alive.

"Whoa. Easy there, cowboy," Troy chuckled.

Ash looked at the scar on Troy's midsection, where the knife plunged into him. He was curious as to how it came and went so fast.

"How did you heal yourself so fast?" He asked. "Unless you're Wolverine and have the ability to heal quickly, you should have been dead."

Troy smiled. "After I grabbed onto the ledge, I used Aura to heal myself. Aura works in mysterious ways, Ash." He then became more serious as he remembered their task at hand. "We've got to return the Jewel of Life to Arceus. Quickly."

Ash nodded in understanding and the two of them, plus Pikachu, jumped from beam to beam as they neared another walkway that was higher up. Dawn and Barry looked down as they watched them. They both sighed with relief to see that Troy was alive.

Dawn turned to Maximus and Lucario, a relieved smile on her face.

"Troy's alive," she said.

Down below, Troy and Ash noticed Brock and Sheena on a lower platform with Damos, who looked like he was in deep concentration.

"Guys, we've got the Jewel of Life." Ash shouted to them, happily displaying it to show the proof.

"Return it to Arceus," Sheena replied back. "Quickly!"

The two nodded and promptly rushed down towards the pit where Arceus was.

High above them, Marcus watched in shock as the two of them descended down towards where Arceus was. He did not believe that Troy could still be alive. He moved to try and cut them off but a growl from his side caused him to stop.

"LUUUUUUCARRRRRIIIIIIIOOOOO! ( _KAAAAAAAMEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAMEEEEEEHAAAAAA!)_ " Lucario cried as he launched the biggest Aura Sphere he could, mostly to stop Marcus from going anywhere but he ended up sending him into the rock wall, knocking him out cold.

Maximus moved forward towards him, but not before Barry could get in a few kicks to the ribs. He grunted loudly in anger with each kick. By the time it was over, Marcus was lying on the ground and groaning in pain.

"Guess I showed him." Barry smirked proudly.

Maximus grabbed Marcus by the collar of his robes and pulled him up. Marcus was too dazed to hold himself up so Maximus continued to hold him by the back of his collar.

"It is finished," he said.

Marcus sighed in defeat. It really was over.

* * *

Ash and Troy ran down to the pit where Arceus was, hoping that they were not too late to return the Jewel of Life to Him. Troy still felt a little weak from his injury but he had no trouble keeping up with Ash. Once they reached the bottom, the two of them gasped at the sight of the Pokémon. Something inside of them told them that they had met Arceus before but they couldn't remember. It must have been some time ago.

Arceus was surrounded by concrete and did not seem to acknowledge their presence. His eyes glowed red in anger and fury.

"Arceus, we have brought you the Jewel of Life. Please, take it." Ash offered the green orb in his hand to Arceus. Arceus did not say a word or even acknowledge his statement.

"Arceus?" He said, trying to get a response from the God Pokémon but still no response came. Beside Ash, his mentor decided to try his hand at coaxing something from Arceus.

"Arceus, it's over now. You have the Jewel of Life," Troy dropped to his knee in respect. "We humbly ask you to take it back."

No response.

Above them, more liquid concrete flowed from the ducts above them into the pit. Troy and Ash ran to higher ground to avoid being stuck in it too and watched in sadness as the silver liquid engulfed Arceus even more, almost entirely going over His head.

A cry from Pikachu snapped Troy and Ash out of their dazed stupor. The two looked to see him being engulfed by a violet light and becoming more clear rather than opaque. The two then noticed the same thing happening to them.

"What the...what's going on?" Ash cried as he became more clear.

"I don't know." Troy shook his head.

* * *

Above them, the same thing was happening to their companions. Maximus watched in shock as Dawn and Barry started to become less solid. Lucario also started to become less vivid. Barry screamed in horror.

"What is happening to me?" He shouted. "Someone is going to get fined like never before if I don't find out what is happening!"

"You're disappearing," Marcus chuckled, an evil smirk returning to his face. "With Arceus no more, there is no reason for you to have to come back here. History has changed."

"Silence!" Maximus used an Aura stun attack to render Marcus unconscious. He looked at the blonde haired male and the girl, who gave him looks of desperation. He sighed sadly, knowing there was nothing he could do to help them.

 _'Hurry, Damos. Please. The fate of these children and their friends rests on your shoulders.'_

* * *

Down below, the concrete rose even further, completely engulfing Arceus save for the top of His head and the wheel on His back. Ash and Troy watched in stunned silence, knowing that Arceus will be dead very soon. Ash dropped to his knees as his eyes brimmed with tears. This was not supposed to happen.

"No, Arceus," his voice broke, sounding like he was on the verge of crying. "You can't die. You can't."

Troy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, trying in some way to bring comfort to his young apprentice, but it was not working.

"It's gonna be ok, Ash," he rubbed his hand on his shoulder. "It will be ok."

The tears Ash tried so hard to hold in finally let loose as he buried his face in Troy's torso. Troy bent down to wrap his arms around Ash in a comforting hug. Muffled cries could be heard as Troy rubbed his back.

"He can't leave this world hating us, Troy!" Ash wailed. "I won't let him!"

Troy tried to stay strong but he too was starting to have tears steak down his face. Soon he couldn't feel the ground anymore, like he wasn't even touching it. He looked down and what he saw next horrified him. The lower half of his body was disappearing and soon his whole body would be gone too.

Pikachu cried out as he disappeared entirely, vanishing in a flash of violet light. More tears ran down Ash's face.

"PIKACHU!" He cried. Then he started to feel his body begin to disappear too. His hand kept the Jewel of Life outstretched towards Arceus.

"Well," Troy said, the light coming up to his chest. "I'll see you on the other side, buddy. I have no regrets."

"Troy, no! Please!" Ash begged.

"Don't be sad for me," Troy waved it off. "We'll be together again soon."

But before the two of them disappeared entirely, the Jewel of Life glowed in Ash's hand. This took their minds off of the fact they would soon be gone entirely for a moment. The green sphere floated towards Arceus before separating into five separate life plates, the ones of grass, water, ground, electricity and dragon. The plates then merged with Arceus, who started to glow a bright light.

"Pika!"

Ash and Troy turned to see Pikachu had returned and the two of them were whole once again.

"We're back!" Ash cried in joy as he and Troy embraced each other. Looking up, they saw that the rest of their little party had stopped disappearing as well, which brought relief to them both.

Dawn and Barry embraced in complete happiness until Barry pulled away in embarrassment, a blush working its way on his face while he scratched the back of his head. The best part was Sheena gave Brock a small kiss on the cheek, who in turn fainted with a dumb grin on his face.

The bright light that surrounded Arceus glowed even brighter than before, causing Troy and Ash to shield their eyes from it. When the light dimmed just a little, the two of them looked to see Arceus free from the concrete and looking right at them in curiosity.

"Who are you?" He asked them.

Master and apprentice were so overcome with awe that they did not speak for several seconds until Ash finally spoke.

"I-I'm Ash," he replied. "And this is Pikachu."

"Troy's the name," Troy bowed in respect.

A loud rumbling interrupted the moment as more and more liquid concrete flowed into the hole, threatening to overrun the whole thing. A giant wave of it moved towards Ash and Troy and they prepared for it to hit. It never did however when a force field surrounded the two of them and carried them to Arceus. They then rose up out of the hole.

"Ash, Pikachu, Troy," He said. "Are you the ones who saved my life?"

"No, it wasn't just us," Troy shook his head as he and Ash floated back towards a walkway where everyone else was waiting for them. "We all did."

Dawn embraced Troy in relief that he was ok. Troy happily returned the hug. She handed him his shirt back and he put it back on.

"I'm ok, Dawn," he assured her. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

Lucario then came in and bear hugged his trainer, tears of relief fell from his eyes. Troy chuckled as he returned the embrace with his Pokémon, rubbing the top of his head after they broke apart. Lucario growled lowly in happiness.

"Alright, Troy," Barry interjected. "Do you know how much I am going to fine you for making me worry like that?!"

Instead of an annoyed look, Troy smiled this time.

"I know, Barry," he replied. "I know."

Taking it in stride, Barry smiled back. "You know what, forget about the fine. Just having you alive is more than enough payment."

Troy chuckled. "You got it."

Damos and Maximus stepped forward.

"Arceus, please forgive us." Damos begged.

"We should have known that Marcus would one day betray us like this," added Maximus.

"I already saw it in your hearts," Arceus shrugged it off. "It's alright."

High above them, Marcus was reeling from this turn of events. He had not planned for failure at all. He was so sure that his plan would succeed. If only it hadn't been for those meddling kids and their stupid Pokémon, it would have. Heatran and Bronzong kept a close eye on him, not even letting him move an inch without stopping him. He sighed in defeat, realizing it was over.

Arceus let off a green light which glowed like a thousand emeralds. The pieces of armor on the other Pokémons' backs all fell off, releasing them from Marcus's control. Turning towards the entrance of the room, Arceus beckoned everyone to follow Him. They all did and soon the sunshine greeted everyone with its brightness. There was not a cloud in the sky to speak of.

Floating over everyone, Arceus knew it was time to leave to gain some rest. He looked at the eight humans in thanks.

"I have used up all of my strength," He said. "So for now I must rest."

Arceus turned to Maximus and Damos, wanting to let them know how much He appreciated their help and friendship.

"Thank you, Damos, Maximus," He said. The two men nodded in respect for they felt the same gratitude as He did.

Arceus then turned to Ash and Troy. "Ash, Troy, thank you for saving my life."

He looked towards all of the Pokémon behind them. "And you, all of you. Farewell, my beloved."

Arceus flew off towards the open sky, preparing to leave to go back to His dimension. Everyone bid Him goodbye and wishes of safe travels. A dimensional portal opened and Arceus flew into it as it closed.

Troy couldn't help but smile as he watched the sky for a few seconds. "You know, I have a feeling everything is going to change."

Ash nodded. "I do too."

Maximus stepped forward towards Troy. Troy had an idea of what it may be about, from what his Aura could tell him.

"Troy," he took a deep breath, not knowing what to say to him. "I do not know of what to say."

Troy nodded in understanding. "There's no need, Maximus. I've learned more than enough already." He brought his necklace out of the collar of his shirt and Maximus did the same. "This necklace has been in my family for generations and I know it binds us together. I'm glad I got to meet you at least once."

He then scratched Riolu affectionately behind the ears, causing the small fighting type to mewl in happiness.

"Take care of Riolu," Troy said. "You two are meant for each other."

"I couldn't agree more," Maximus nodded.

A light then surrounded Troy and his friends. Only Sheena seemed to understand what it meant. Dialga was calling them back to the future. They were going home. With a final farewell to Maximus and Damos, our heroes then disappeared into thin air.

Maximus and Damos looked at each other with knowing looks as they watched all of the greenery that was Michina. The future was bright and they could not be more excited for what it would bring.

* * *

 **Just one more chapter to go, my friends. It has been a wild roller coaster ride since the start of the school year but we are almost to the finish line. So our friends save the** **past, but is the future safe as well? Find out next time in this retelling of Arceus and the Jewel of Life, one of the better Pokémon movies if you ask me though Spell of the Unown will always be my favorite. Be sure to leave a review as you read. Those help me a lot.**

 **Just so you guys know, I'm kinda going through a rough time right now. My parents are planning on getting a divorce so I am struggling to get myself together. I'll do what I can but I'll** **probably be going through a mourning period for a bit before I can feel like writing again.**

 **See you guys next time and thank you for understanding.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Well guys. We now come to the end of the story. It's crazy to think that I have been working on this story ever since school started and that it is now coming to an end. I've had a blast with this story and I know you guys have loved reading it based on all of your reviews and positive** **feedback.**

 **Recap: With their mission completed, our heroes now go back to their time. Will everything be fixed or will they have to do more correcting? Find out right here and now.**

* * *

The weightless feeling and bright lights soon ended for our heroes as they felt their feet land on solid ground once again. They looked around, hoping that they were back in their correct time. The sky was dark, the temple was in shambles, Giratina, Dialga, and Palkia were all there just like when they were sent back to the past.

"Yup, we're back," Barry confirmed what everyone knew. Everyone sighed in relief, happy to know they were in the correct time. While their adventure was certainly interesting, they were glad to be back where they belonged.

Hearing a cry not too far away from them, the group turned quickly to see Arceus charging up an attack. He was obviously still pissed off and wanted to bring about the end of the world in retribution.

"Arceus, stop!" Ash cried out, hoping that he could stop Him. Arceus let the attack loose into the sky, which broke into several meteors.

"Arceus, look at us please!" Troy tried his hand at reasoning with Arceus.

Arceus heard the voices calling to Him and looked to where they were coming from. He saw Ash and Troy standing there. Immediately, the events from the past replayed through His mind. The entire world slowed down around Him as He remembered being attacked by Marcus, the concrete surrounding him, and Ash and Troy standing there with the Jewel of Life. He even remembered New Island a few years ago when he helped them stop the Mewtwo from destroying the world and Troy lying on the ground with Lucario and Ash crying over him. Something inside of Him told Arceus to stop the attack.

"Ash, Troy," He remembered now.

With this newfound revelation, Arceus immediately stopped the meteors before they could reek havoc on the land below. Even the giant skid hole near the group of humans disappeared and all the damage to the ruins of the temple immediately was gone like it never even happened in the first place. The damage from the meteors all around the town also fixed itself and soon it was like nothing even happened.

Everyone saw this with awed expressions.

"History has been corrected," Brock observed. "Our interference changed everything."

"You got that right, Brock," Troy smiled. "We did it."

The dark clouds parted and revealed bright, beautiful sunlight. Everyone shielded their eyes briefly until their eyes adjusted to the brightness. They gasped in awe of the beauty of the land, unable to believe that they were looking out on something so beautiful. But something didn't seem right.

"Wait, hold on," Barry broke everyone's thoughts. "Shouldn't this be a wasteland now since we gave the Jewel of Life back to Arceus?"

Sheena noticed Arceus flying down towards them with the other three Legendary Pokémon flanking Him.

"Arceus, care to tell us why?" She asked.

"This was not my doing," He explained. "Your ancestors devoted their entire lives to cultivating and restoring this land. This place was brought back by the efforts of people and Pokémon together."

Troy and Ash bro-hugged in celebration. A voice disrupted the moment.

"Sheena!" It was Kevin. He rushed over to the group as quickly as he could. Immediately he and Sheena embraced, causing Brock to screech in horror. To make matters even worse, Kevin placed a kiss on her forehead. She returned the favor with a kiss on the cheek before they locked lips. The younger ones chuckled nervously while Troy patted the distraught Brock on the back in comfort.

"It's ok," Troy said. "You'll find the one meant for you someday, Brock."

"And to think..." Brock whimpered. "She gave me a kiss on the cheek."

Sheena and Kevin stared deep into each other's eyes, taking in the other like they hadn't seen each other in years.

"I'm so glad you're safe," Kevin brought a hand to her cheek. "I thought I would never see you again."

Sheena giggled, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "Well I had a little bit of help. I knew that you could handle things here."

While the two of them were getting reacquainted, Brock continued his pathetic display of shock by curling into a fetal position and sucking his thumb, unable to take this turn of events. Why was it always he who gets screwed when it comes to women?

"Brock, get up," Troy picked him up. "You're acting like a total baby!"

"Well I'm sorry that not all of us can be successful with women like you, Troy!" Brock shot back.

While the two of them argued, the three Legendary Pokémon of time, space, and the reverse world all flew back to their own dimensions. Arceus flew down until His hooves touched the ground beside the humans, watching them leave.

Kevin noticed a piece of stone that was written in hieroglyphs.

"Take a look at this," he motioned them towards it. The pictures on the stone depicted Arceus along with Ash and friends.

"Wow," Troy stared in awe. "Damos and Maximus must have made this knowing that we would eventually see it."

Sheena looked to notice the description underneath. She began to read it out loud.

"To all our dear future children, who taught us how to believe and what strength truly is," she read. "We offer you our sincerest hopes and wishes that the future world you live in may become more and more beautiful." Tears of happiness began to pour down her face and she started to get choked up as she continued. "And that is exactly the kind of world you find yourselves in. May the Aura be with you. Until we meet again, Damos and Maximus."

Sheena immediately started crying out of pure joy. Kevin pulled her into a hug while Troy looked at the necklace in his hand. He could feel Maximus's presence through it. He breathed through his nose and put it back on, knowing that Maximus would always be with him.

"Ash, Troy," Arceus called to the two of them. The two responded in kind and walked over to the Pokémon. Arceus looked out onto the land, seeing it in all of its natural beauty.

"This world of yours is truly a magnificent place." He said.

Master and apprentice could not agree more. Troy placed an arm around Ash's shoulders as the two of them nodded.

"It is," Troy smiled. "As are the people who make it wonderful. There is always good in the world. You just have to look hard enough to find it."

"Yeah," Ash agreed.

Arceus gave them one last look, one that gave a sense of farewell.

"I must leave now," He said, floating off from His position on the mountain. "I wish all of you the best of luck and know that the world is in great hands. It is because of you that I know that I am truly a part of it. Farewell, my friends."

"Farewell, Arceus," Troy returned. "I hope you have found the peace you desperately needed."

Everyone watched as a dimensional portal opened in the sky and Arceus flew through it, going back to His dimension. They stayed behind to watch the sky for a few more minutes, reflecting on the amazing adventure they just had and knew that many more lay ahead.

Troy finally broke the silence between everyone, save for the wind blowing through their faces and the different sounds of many kinds of Pokémon.

"Alright, guys. Let's get out of here."

His companions nodded and started to climb down from the mountain after bidding Kevin and Sheena goodbye. No one said a word, not even Barry, for they all were still overwhelmed by all that had happened that day; traveling back in time to correct the past, stopping a tyrannical ruler, Troy being stabbed and almost dead, and Troy meeting an ancestor of his.

Once they got back to town, they all stood at a cross roads. They knew that this was where they would say goodbye to Barry.

"Well, Barry, we'll see you around," said Troy. "Good luck." He stuck his hand out for a handshake.

Barry stared at his hand like he was going to slip it out of his grasp at the last second but finally shook Troy's hand.

"Thanks, but that is the last time I go on an adventure with you guys again." he said.

"Barry, after all the fun we had together?" Troy put on an insulted demeanor, though he was just teasing.

"No way! How do you guys keep doing this?" Barry retorted.

Ash stepped in to reply this time. "We don't know. But being in the right place at the right time is better than staying on the sidelines."

Barry let out a frustrated shriek. "You guys are crazy! I'm outta here. You better hope I don't run into you again because I'm going to fine you for getting me caught up in your adventure!" He stomped off but not before being blindsided by a low branch on a tree. "And I'm going to fine you too!" He yelled at the branch. "Thanks for wrecking my day!"

Troy snorted as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Same old Barry," he chuckled. "What can you say about him?"

"I dunno," Ash replied, also amused by the blonde's antics.

And with that, our heroes set off down the dirt path, ready for whatever adventure would come their way next. Through their friendship and determination, nothing would stand in their way.

"I can't find my pen," Brock cried as he went through his backpack. "Who took it?"

Troy darted his eyes from side to side, giving Ash and Dawn knowing glances. "I dunno," he walked casually, leaving the two of them giggling.

"Was it you, Troy?" Brock was starting to get irritated. "Give it back."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Troy denied. "Maybe you lost it."

"You did take it didn't you?!" Brock chased after him while Troy ran off with a resounding laugh.

"So what if I did?"

"Give it back!"

"La la la la la la la la la!"

"You're such a child!"

Dawn could only roll her eyes. "Oy vey." She muttered as she and Ash ran off to catch up to them and stop them from killing each other.

* * *

Voices

Same as the movie and anime for Barry.

Troy- Garrett Hedlund

Maximus- Christopher Sabot

* * *

End Credits

(Your Heart Will Lead You Home by Kenny Loggins plays over the end credits)

(They all sit around a campfire in a snowstorm, where Troy is playing his guitar and singing, everyone is joining in.)

(Images of them all walking during a bright day pop up)

(They are all huddled in a cave waiting out the rain)

(They are walking with a rainbow from the rainstorm in their view)

The picture fades out.

* * *

 **Well that just about does it here. Not sure what I will be back with next but I will be back. Me and LEGAL EAGLE53 are planning on working on either 2000 or the Lucario movie next. Not sure when that will be up in-between school and her own schedule too. I also will be helping her out with more Troy stuff. We already have a good collection of stuff put together and I know she cannot wait to share that with you guys.**

 **I want to thank all my loyal reviewers, ctran03931, Eagle, cutesaralisa, and all you guys. Thank you for keeping me going throughout the entire time I've written this story. You guys are the most awesome reviewers in the world. I know I can always count on you.**

 **So until we see each other next, my fans. I think you'll like what I have around the corner next.**


End file.
